Chicken Seed

"I need you guys to help me plant some flower seed," I say.
"OK, what kind of seeds are we going to plant?" Jac asks. 

We were coming home from Bandanas BarBQue - perfectly normal conversation. 

"Sunflowers and Zinnias, I don't think I have any Marigolds," I say.

This whole time Mia has been quiet.  We are all unloading out of the car.  I'm almost to the garage, Jac is trailing, Mia is just getting out.

"Hah, you should plants some chicken seed," from my DH.

And the punch line, wait for it wait for it!

Mia says, "Daddy you're silly.  Chicken doesn't come from seed.....it comes from Cows!"  And she giggles at how silly daddy is.

My big 7 Year Old

Seven is a good age.  Jac has found some independence and a lot of success this year.  I see the independence when he wants to ride his bike by himself, or when he pulls his hand away when I try and hold it.  I cheer a little for him when he does these things.  I love that he is a boy at heart.  Even when he sasses back a bit, I cheer him (just a tiny bit).

Wow - what a smartie pants.  I think that I need to get used to awards ceremonies.  Jac had three pieces of artwork at the the all district art fair, his science fair project won a blue ribbon at the All St Louis Science Fair, he won second place for a MLK Essay and poster at the district level and 3rd place at the state level.  Sheesh!  It was really a huge conficence boost for him.

But better than that, this little seven year old amazes us every day with things like how he helps his little sisters, how he draws a city on the driveway everyday, how he has written whole novels and just for being Jac. 

We had a great time this year at a "destination" birthday at Vetta sports.  It was nice because they do it all for you and then you walk away and don't clean up a thing!  It was a lot of fun to be able to celebrate with his friends and still have his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins there too. 

Mia's Trip

Mia went on a trip with Gee Gee and Papa recently.  They went to Arizona and saw lots of things. What they saw and where they went seem less important than the fact that Mia is five and a half and truly becoming a big girl.  It was long, 9 days without her.  It was far away, I was a bit freaked and wanted to know the exact itinerary at all times.  She had a very good time, but I think the timing was a little bad because I had just started work and we were in the midst of hiring a nanny. 

I freaked out a bit when she wouldn't talk to me on the phone.  We would have daily phone calls, and there was one day - her second I believe that she refused to say anything.  We finally figured out that if we put her speaker phone and she could have the phone sitting on the table she did much better.  She could talk and Gee Gee and Papa could help with the conversation too.  Sheesh - talk about stress!

From her perspective - she registered for kindergarten, she went on a long trip with her grandparents, her mommy started work and she is now being taken care of during the day by a nanny.  Wow - each in and of itself could cause problems but all together she was a bit of a wreck for awhile.  My Mia who has no problem sleeping through the night was waking up.  She was rebelling on me working.  She was talking about not going to school full time next year, she would prefer half days. 

So you know all of these things were weighing on her.  I missed her terribly while she was gone.  Jeff traveled for a good deal during that time and between the two of them being gone I was a bit lost. 

The good news is that she seems to have adjusted.  It took her quite a while, although actually all of the kiddos adjusted quicker than I thought they would.  Stella very fast, Jac in about 4 weeks and Mia now after 8 weeks seems to be herself.  Mommy still has a ways to go, sigh.

Here are some pics:

Yes, I believe she is sitting at a bar.

She has prominent ears to begin with but this is ridiculous!

 My parents, Mia and my sister, Heather.



I love this pic, the hat could be adjusted just a touch, don't you think?

Very Serious Business