Her biggest complaint is the "tennis shoe only" rule at her new school. "But, Momma. Sandals look soooo much cuter with dresses and skirts!!" I tried to comfort her by explaining all the girls would have on tennis shoes too, with their skirts and dresses. Her response, "Okay, whatever. We'll just ALL look like DORKS!"
Thunder went to his first day of preschool. I didn't do preschool with Her Highness, so this is new territory for us. Thunder begged to go to school last year, so we thought we would give it a go. He was dressed and ready three hours earlier than he needed to be. I've never seen a child so enthusiastic about anything in my life.
Bert acted like he was going to carry Thunder in on the first day. "Oh, NO YOU'RE NOT!" is all he could squeal back.
Lightning had to carry a lunch box too, even though he wasn't staying. On the way home, Bert announced to those of us left in the car in his booming radio dj voice, "Ladies and Gentlemen... Boys and Girls... please welcome the newest boss of the Hudson House from the hours of 11-2..." and continued with his introduction of Lightning's newest title. All Lightning had to say to that was, "I wish I was four so I could go to school." I'm sure he and Hail will find plenty of trouble to stay in while their fearless leader is away.
Lightning does have some exciting news though... he's now a true swimmer! A couple of weeks ago, Hail insisted on taking off his arm floaties and got lots of attention because he was able to kick back and forth between Bert and me and then come up for air. Lightning watched his 22 month old brother attempt to swim for a few minutes, then said, "Momma, can I take my arm rings off too?" We pulled them off, and sure enough, my three year old had been holding out on me. He put his face in and kicked all over the shallow end, but stayed close to the stairs. I tried explaining that if you can swim by the stairs, you can swim anywhere, but he didn't believe me. Give him another week though....
Her Highness, a champion mermaid swimmer herself, giving instructions to her learning brother: "Now, see if you can stay under even longer this time...Great job!"
Here we go...
Last weekend several of our neighbors held a giant garage sale. They let Her Highness and Thunder set up a "Lemo-Lade" stand. It was super hot and humid, as August usually promises in the south, so they actually made out like bandits. Our sweet neighbors, Lauren and A.C. helped count change. Thunder could be heard singing as cars pulled up, "LEMO-LADE! Get your LEMO-LADE right here! Ice cold!! Step right up! Ice cold! LEMO-LADE!" He sounded like a beer and pretzel salesman at a stadium.
Cutest lil' entrepreneurs I ever saw.
Hail has some news as well... He's decided to potty train himself. I refuse to potty-train unless a child is begging and pleading. Otherwise, it's been my experience, potty-training is an utter and complete waste of my time and theirs. Hail is not 100% yet, but we're still proud of him for his efforts.
And, he's still practicing to be a great big brother. Her Highness didn't know I was going to snap this shot. After she saw the flash she said with a sigh, "Oh, great. You're going to put that on your blog, aren't you??"
I am trying to adjust to our new school schedule and hoping I don't mix up the car lines and wait at the wrong place at the wrong time. Thunder would be thrilled to be left at school for a few extra hours, while Her Highness would never speak to me again.
And yes, I am still feeling like I did last year. (Click here.)
Hope you all are having as much fun this August as we are in the Hudson House!
