Back to School, With a Vengance

Hey yo! Fall fever is here, even if the true official fall is yet to begin. The wait for cooler weather is always a long one for me.

I figure instead of boring you with too many details about all that's transpired, I'll just give a bunch of quick hits. Feel free to hit back, but remember that you comments may be used against you in a court of law.

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Statistics

So, after 4,700+ miles the kids and the Grand Neuf returned home. Some unofficial statistics from the Tour:

• 9 fish caught by 2 boys
• 2 stomach bugs caught by 2 boys
• 5 large dogs weighing a combined 700 pounds visited
• 400 of those pounds transferred to 2 boys' clothing in the form of dog hair
• 87 cheeseburgers eaten
• 238 nickels spent at Nickel-a-Play
• 4 uncles, 7 aunts visited
• 19 pit stops while driving, 7 of them too late
• 3 days of diarrhea among 2 boys
• 22 bug bites on the eldest boy
• 2 tubes of hydrocortisone used
• 1 oil change
• 5 rounds of Putt-Putt
• 12 of 20 DVDs watched, most repeatedly
• 2 trips to a doctor's office
• 1 tooth lost due to collision, gravity (Nico)
• 2 very tired parents who are glad the trip is over

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Back into the Groove

A return to structure has been difficult, especially since the boys have essentially gone without any real regimented daily routines for a month or so. Back to bedtimes, and hard wake-ups. Back to making lunches, and complaining about the lunches that are made. But more importantly, back to SCHOOL.

Or, in Nico's case- going to a new school. We've been trying to prepare him all summer that he was going to go to Big Boy school (a Pre-K 3 year-old program). And this week it started, though not very well. Carma and Nico had a "practice day" where she got to stay with him for 2 hours- during which time he never really warmed up to anything or anyone. The real first day, Wednesday, I dropped him off much to his dismay (and pleadings, tears, and screams). Yep, adjustment is difficult for all of us- I was pretty sad about the whole experience myself.

Fortunately, he's warmed up a bit. We drop him off a bit earlier now, as he has a good friend he knows in the early care. He was happy yesterday, but sad today (though at least not crying).

Thurman on the other hand is doing well. He got the teacher he wanted, and has three of his friends in his class. His only complaints revolve around lunches (doesn't want to eat fruits) and the walk to aftercare after school.

The nice thing about this year (so far) is that our morning drop-off routine no longer includes using the car (or dealing with street-sweepers or cross-town buses!). Even better, both boys are now at the same aftercare, making pick-ups so so so much easier. Hurrah!

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Free Time

So, I was back in NJ without spouse or children for 10 days. What did I do? (Other than miss my wife and children?) I clearly neglected my blog in that time. There's a reason for that: I'm boring when I am by myself. Really! It's a wonder I ever got married.

My "accomplishments":

• Packed up our kitchen for a cleaning project
• Assembled a file cabinet
• Filed files into the cabinet
• Played some video games (Rock Band, Call of Duty 3)
• Cleaned my children's room
• Watched a couple movies
• Watched a few Mets games
• Had a fantasy football draft
• Went to work
• Went to church
• Had three meetings/activities cancelled
• Got a haircut

In my own defense, I was limited since I didn't have a car. But yeah, I'm pretty boring.

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Future Plans

We're all about the future! Well, we have a lot planned for it anyway.

October: Carma goes to DC (I think)

November: Greg goes to Rhode Island (um, yay?) Carma and Nico go to San Diego.

December: Carma goes to Australia. Possibility of family going to Disney World.

Ok, so Carma has a lot planned at least. :)

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Sporting!

So, the Mets are in a pennant race. Football has started. Fantasy baseball is in the playoffs. Fantasy football has begun. Is the U.S. Open over yet?

In the real world, Thurman begins soccer today. Practices are on Fridays at 6, with games on Saturdays. Just more routine to incorporate. Unfortunately, most of his games conflict with TaeKwonDo, which Nico will still go to. It'll be interesting to see how Nico fares at TKD without his big brother there.

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Politically Charged

Not really. But I'm trying to do my due diligence and listen/watch the DNC/RNC speeches. Thankfully they are all on iTunes and I can watch them on my phone during my commute.

Now, I've also been listening to General Conference addresses on my commute as well. Let's just say that the two are not on equal footing, and it's often a jolting transition from one to the other. I've noticed it's a lot easier to spot empty rhetoric from both parties after listening to the Lord's Apostles.

Is it too late to campaign for President Monson?

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That's all I got for the time being. I hope everyone is well and making their own seasonal transitions successfully!