JACOB STARTS SCHOOL ON TUESDAY!!

Well, last night was meet the teacher night for the 3-day preschool program that Jacob is going to do this year (I never thought to ask if they had a SEVEN day program where I could just stop by and visit him). His best friend Jack is going to be in the same class so he has REALLY been looking forward to going to school. I think he is tired of being with me everyday too!!!

I have been looking forward to school for him too. Yesterday, Ashlyn and I wondered to each other how the boys would act together, and we both decided they would probably be better in a classroom setting.

I REALLY wonder how this will work out. Jacob was in one of those moods yesterday where I wasn't sure whether or not his head was gonna spin around and he would begin to spew green yuck out of his mouth. He threw things, he cried, he took all of the babies toys away, he bumped his head, he cried, he bumped his head again (after he moved the coffee table across the living room). I gave him some Tylenol in hopes of changing his mood (must have been defective).

He was fairly calm at meet the teacher night. He insisted on wearing his CARS backpack with all of his school supplies in it, so he did fall over a couple times and had to have help getting back up. He was still o.k. He had a nice friendly conversation with another parent after he saw a John Deere sticker on the guys truck. He was pretty good in the sanctuary.

When we went to the classroom his mood changed a bit. I saw Jacob and another boy playing with some cars then I saw Jacob walking over to me with a pout on his face and I saw him stop by where the other little boy had sat down. I saw that the little boy had one little car in his hand. I saw Jacob stop and stamp his foot (he doesn't normally do this stomp thing). Jacob had FOUR big cars in his hand!!!

Ms. Polly (the teacher) decided to hand out some paper and told the kids to draw a picture of themselves. I saw Jack draw a big circle. I saw some of the older girls draw cute little stick girls with long flowing hair. I see Jacob drawing a big square and a triangle and some other stuff. Austin bent down and told him that they were supposed to be drawing a picture of themselves and Jacob replied "I don't care, I'm drawin a boat".

He got a little more moody and I'm sure the other parents (if they were paying attention to him) where thinking "well, there is the troublemaker in our class." We all look for the troublemaker in our kids classes. I had already scoped out all troublemakers in Austin class and/or classes he could be moved into. I'm not dealing well with the thought that MY KID is gonna be the one scoped out over the next several years. I hope that I am overreacting.

So we went home and calmed down. NOT. When we walked into the house, Austin decided to "take" Jacob's nose (you know that little trick. It was taught to me by my uncle Billy). Jacob was screaming at the top of his lungs to "get his nose back". I asked if it hurt, he said "yes". He screamed and screamed and screamed. I told Austin to give him his nose back and NEVER take it again. Most of the evening went this well. If I were a drinker, I certainly would have put away some cocktails last night.

We will just see how it goes. What age do kids start military school????

NAPTIME?

Here comes Jacob, in his underwear, coming in for the 3rd time:

Jacob: "You know what's keeping me up now?"

Mom: "What?"

Jacob (while pointing finger): "A Booger."

Mom: "Well, throw it in the trashcan."

Jacob: "It doesn't go in the trashcan. It goes on your shirt."

Jacob goes back to bed. Mom goes to change shirt (or do I really, what would most busy moms do?).

DADDY'S NEW VEHICLE!!!

Well, we are getting ready for our big move out to the country, so for Ralph's birthday we got him something that he could do a little MORE work with (as if he isn't busy enough!!).

I watched him use the tractor for a few minutes and then moved on with my project. They boys would just stop and stare.

Sometimes it's funny to see the subtle differences between men/boys and women that way. Some of their fascinations are ageless. I've been talking to them before and stopped because no on was listening. When I look to see what is so important, they ALL (3 or 4) have their eyes glued to a cartoon!!

Little boys know that a car is meant for driving at a very young age. When I walked by the 4-wheeler the other day, Nicholas practically jumped out of my arms to "ride" it. He pushes little cars down the hallway as he crawls.

Little boys also know from a very young age that any strange noise emitted from their bodies is funny. Nicholas "passed gas" (of course that's not really what we say here, I'm just being polite for delicate readers) and looked back at me to smile and make sure that mommy heard.

I tell the boys that Mommy was a girl at one time in life, but after living with only men for so long I am a boy now too. (I was just as proud and tickled as Nic was about his noises). Austin tells Nana sometimes that she didn't have two girls cuz Mommy isnt' a girl anymore.

I have noticed a few things since being surrounded by 4 men. Don't tell them, but I still have some of those girly ways. I always want my toenails painted. I love purses and shoes and JEWELRY. I love a clean house and luxurious bedding.

As I told the guys when we found out that Nic was going to be yet another guy, "MOMMY IS STILL THE PRINCESS OF THE HOUSE". It's just a bonus that the princess enjoys potty humor!!!

Alvin and Jefferson

Austin has informed me that he and Jacob have aliases. Austin approached me and said "Did you know that I have another name?" I told him that I did not realize that and I asked him what it was.

"ALVIN YAKKATORRE", he very matter-of-factly replied. "If I ever have to sign up for something and I don't want to give my real name I will just put ALVIN YAKKATORRE."

Ok, no big deal. So then he says that Jacob has a new name too. "What's that?" I say.

JEFFERSON STEELFLEX.

This isn't something that seems to be passing either. Jacob knows and occasionally uses his other name. Austin is concerned that someone will call his "recording studio" and ask for Alvin and we will tell them that they have the wrong number. I haven't broken it to him that I did not inform the post office that Alvin Yakkatorre and Jefferson Steelflex may both receive mail at our new P.O. Box.

SO, if you happen to recieve any correspondence from either Alvin Yakkatorre or Jefferson Steelflex, do not be alarmed, they are my children.

Sincerely,
Misty Barbarino (AKA, mommy)

School is Back in Session!!!!

Well, summer is now officially over for Austin and Jacob starts preschool after Labor Day. Now, I won't say that I was one of those mom's who couldn't wait for school to start, but I didn't cry that summer vacation was over either!!!

Austin started 4th grade and we already had our tears over not being in class with ANY friends. He was really upset when we found this out a couple weeks ago, but has gotten past it and seems to be doing okay. He likes his teachers and has learned a British accent.

Now the cafeteria food is still the same and his second day back he ate a slice of orange!!!!! They had chicken burgers and his dad said that sounded good and that he should eat it. Well, HE has never tasted the chicken burger like I have. It's basically a big McDonalds chicken nugget that has had all of the crust chewed off. Oh, I'm not talking about the new chicken nuggets made of "real" white meat. I'm talking about the old ones.

So what else did they serve that he could have eaten??

In his words, "some applesauce that was orange that looked like ground up carrots" and "three slices of orange". Not a whole orange, not even a half orange. To top it off he said the chicken burger was cold. So I said "so you did taste it?" He said "well, I put a bite in my mouth." I never asked if he spit it back out on his plate or not.

We have a history of not caring for school cafeteria food. I will never forget when he told me he wanted to try the Frito Pie. I didn't ask any questions, I didn't offer any explanations. The second he got home I asked "How was the Frito Pie?". He was very offended and exclaimed "Those cafeteria ladies don't know what they are doing; THAT WAS NOT PIE!!!!!!"

Today the menu says CREAM CHICKEN. What???? What the heck is CREAM CHICKEN?? I suggested the Hot Ham and cheese sandwhiches (which are on the alternative menu). I'll tell ya after 4 how they may ruin a ham and cheese sandwhich.

Oh, tomorrow they are having MACHO NACHOS with MEXICAN MEAT.

Well, gotta go. Someone little is standing beside me doing a whole bunch of grunting and it smells like.....cream chicken??

August in Texas/NO AC!!!

Well, at about 5 yesterday evening I thought it was kind of warm in the house. Dinner was baking in the oven and it was nice and warm outside. I decided to bump the a/c down so Ralph could come home to a nice cool house after a long day of work. It wouldn't cool!!! He got home and took the cover off of the unit outside, cleaned it, and turned power back on to it. Still wouldn't cool.

So we figured we would spend a nice warm night before we could call anyone. Thank God for ceiling fans, right?? Well, we got the boys settled down, fan on, no jammies. I then noticed that their fan was all out of whack. So I was told the story of how one of the blades looked funny so they "bent it back". Well, they actually cracked the metal part that holds the blade!!!!! The boys can reach the fan if they get on the top bunk and lean over. I've stopped many games of "I dare you to reach out and touch the fan." I've stopped games of "chunk the pillow/toy up there and see what happens (it really flies)." Apparently I missed the last game.

So we got them settled back in bed, no jammies, no covers, and NO FAN. We started getting ready for bed a little while later and just as I was thinking there had been no complaints of "I'm HOT", here comes Austin. "I'm hot." Now Austin has had a cold and definitely had fever last night. He told me that since we had a fan(that works) in our bedroom, it would be sooo much cooler, and he would sleep on the floor, and he wouldn't care if I stepped on him when I got up to tend to Nicholas who has also had a cold. "It's worth the risk," he said.

Well I did get up. About 9 times. Jacob was restless. He said his leg hurt. Maybe it was from jumping over and over off of the ladder of the bunk bed (I told him to stop, he said "what if I do it GENTLE?"). Nicholas was restless, he probably couldn't breathe through his little nose. His fan worked.

So, I'm up, had a nice cup of warm coffee (mmmmmm!), the baby and I are watching Curious George, and there are two underwear-clad boys sleeping comfortably in Mommy bed WITH A WORKING FAN!!!!!