Five going on fifteen

This morning...

Reece: Mom, I can't zip my jacket. Would you do it?

Me: I thought you knew how to do that already.

Reece: I guess I haven't mastered this skill yet.

The kindergarten best friend

Reece has a best friend already. And while that is no real surprise, since he has seemed to need to identify at least one child to be closest to ever since he started daycare, the child he has chosen (and who has chosen him) IS a little bit of a surprise. Because he only knows her from the bus. Even before he started kindergarten, he knew personally three kids in his classroom and another half dozen kindergartners in the school just from our friends, preschool, sports, etc. He had never met his new best friend before they were assigned to the same seat on the bus, and the only other time they see each other is at recess. It turns out that she has an older sister who is Greyson's age, and she and he are both in a class together this year and both play the french horn, so maybe that's what attracted Reece and his BF to each other. Who knows. All I know, the rest of us may die from the cute.

He didn't even tell us her name right away, he just referred to her as "my best friend". One evening last week, he put three Lego Harry Potter character stickers on his belly and said he wasn't going to take them off until he could show them to his best friend (but no one else) because, "She's not a fan of Harry Potter like I am, but her sister is, so I think she'd be interested in seeing them." On Tuesday, he had a headache while in school and spent about an hour in the nurse's office but apparently was feeling better by recess time (I know, convenient, but that's actually not like him - yet). When I asked him about the whole thing later, after telling me what happened, he said, "I had to get outside to tell my best friend what happened and so she wouldn't miss me." If they were 8 years older, I'm sure they'd be texting each other non-stop.

So now we're at the meet-up stage, where he's going to have a playdate at her house tomorrow after school and we moms can meet face-to-face. There are many reasons I'm glad the boys aren't in aftercare this year, but I think this is one of the best ones - being able to play at someone else's house after school. I have to admit, I'm very curious to see what this little girl looks like and what her personality is. Reece has tended in the past to become closest friends with more dominant children, especially girls, so I'll be interested to see if she fits that type.

Hiking the road (or overgrown path) less traveled

Before I get to the real focus of the post today, I'd like to mention that I have caught the Dreaded Family Cold. I'm calling it that because it seems to pass particularly fast among family members and makes one feel just yucky enough that you don't want to do anything but not sick enough to call off work/school when something important is going on. I had two meetings today so needed to go in to work. And I probably would have just puttered around the house rather than resting, so it's probably better that I'm at least getting some work accomplished (well, and blogging).

The leaves around here have only barely begun to change, except for this maple tree at the metropark, which was probably 3/4 complete, and a few I've seen on my drive between home and work.

On Saturday, the boys and I met my brother and his family for lunch and then we did a little hiking in one of the Cleveland Metroparks near us. Nat likes to geocache whenever possible, so he brought his gps and the four boys and he and I started into the woods.

 Checking the gps to verify the coordinates.

 Heading down with the requisite walking sticks and water bottle.

However, because the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, we quickly left the nicely groomed path and set off UP and into the woods. And then down again, then across a small ravine, then up again, and to the coordinates location where we found...nothing. The kids, however, had a blast. It definitely reminded me of when my brothers and cousins and I would go wandering around in the woods at Black Lake in search of something or nothing - it didn't matter. On our way back to the entrance area, Nat again took the steeper, less groomed route with the kids and I elected to follow an actual path, which got me down the hill faster than the others so I was able to snap a few pictures from below.

 The boys and Nat trying to figure out the best way to descend.

Isaac chooses his own path and gets down first.

Reece after he made it down. I was VERY glad he wore brown shorts based on how much time he spent sliding down hills in the dirt/mud!

Hopefully, we'll do more of these kinds of hikes before the weather turns and maybe even find something at the coordinates!

I can text, I can text, I can*...

So I just added texting to my phone plan. I was able to drop my data plan down by $5 which happens to be the exact cost of the 200 text messages a month plan, so it was a zero sum venture. However, if my neighbor and I keep texting the way we did the first day my plan went into effect, I'll blow through 200 in about two weeks.

Why did I succumb, you ask? Well the old "everyone's doing it" reason seems to fit here, or at least a variation of it. Basically, about 3/4 of the people I keep in regular contact with do not have phones with email, so if I want to tell or ask them something pressing but not urgent, I have to call and interrupt them and probably end up talking for a while when neither of us really has that kind of time at that moment. I know, it's the end of civilization that we no longer take the time to talk to each other. Whatever. I haven't handwritten a note to someone outside my household in probably a year and I seem able to maintain close relationships. Or at least digitally close ones.

So now I just have to learn all the shortcuts. The best one I've received so far was from my brother-in-law who, in response to my message letting him know when and where I'd pick him up, replied "K". I'm going to have to go back and bone up on my CDB books.

*with apologies to Rita Golden Gelman

Moving along towards fall

School must have started, because two of the four of us have already caught colds. I really thought we were past most of the illnesses, but apparently there are some out there yet that we need to experience. Greyson is home from school today, and Dan is coming home at lunch. Luckily, I was able to rearrange some things and stay home, but I don't know what we'll do when I can't do that. Actually, I do know - Dan will have to be the at-home parent. Where's our live-in nanny???

We just hung around home over Labor Day weekend, and the boys and I even biked to Greyson's school one of the days to play at the playground there. The kids are getting bored with our usual playgrounds (rough life, I know).

We all seem to have settled into our new school/work situations (only Dan didn't have any major changes this year). Reece is already saying he likes snack time best at school, so I think the honeymoon is over. The boys got to go to Fundaze this past Thursday because they were off from school for Rosh Hashanah, and they visited the Holden Arboretum. The best part, for me, was one drop off and one pick-up. Because they'll never be at the same school together, this is my only chance. I'm actually rooting for more days off. Greyson wasn't so thrilled, either with the trip locale or the fact that Reece clung to him much of the day, but Reece had a great time.

On another note, I'm thoroughly sick of cherry/grape tomatoes and the garden in general. Between the overgrown tomato plants and rotting tomatoes scattered around them and the sunflowers that are bent and half chewed up from squirrels, the garden looks like a hurricane hit it. The good news? The basil is still healthy and growing and hasn't been taken over by the cucumber plants, and I'm going to make pesto soon. Everything else I am seriously considering taking a mower to. Well, if we had a mower.