Co-op

The impossible has happened: all three of my children are taking a nap at the same time. I guess I wore them out this morning! If I were smart I would be taking a nap as well--I was up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night after being woken by a phone call at about 1:00 in the morning. Apparently the base commander decided it was time to test recall procedures; fortunately no-one had to go anywhere, they were just making sure they could reach everyone. Unfortunately anytime the telephone rings when I am asleep I wake up in ALERT mode, and can't go back to sleep. So I stayed up and tried to call my mother in Austria (harking back to my college days when my favorite time to call home was after midnight). Mom wasn't home, so I contented myself with cleaning the kitchen--well, partially cleaning. There is still pink and blue frosting on the floor; the kids got into the party leftovers yesterday and decided to frost their own cupcakes. They used A LOT of frosting. No, I wasn't watching them at the time.
Wow, all this rambling is making me realize how much I haven't written about. Life's been busy! Last Saturday we had a combined birthday party for Lily and Luke. Luke's birthday was actually at the end of July, and Lily's is still a couple of weeks away--but I decided I was only up to one party so we split the difference. I have decided, though, that if I ever host another party for Lily, it will be someplace where someone else makes all the arrangements and we just have to show up. And that goes double for her wedding reception! She was stressed out the whole week worrying about everything going right--she was afraid we would lose the birthday candles; afraid if we didn't make the cupcakes early they wouldn't get done, then after I explained they would go stale if we baked them at the beginning of the week she got upset when I wanted to do them on Friday (because it was still one day before the party). She planned and replanned where to hang the pinata (she had been worrying for two months that somehow all the pinatas in town would be sold out before her party), and honestly I can't remember everything she was planning and worrying about, but she was uptight all week, and had multiple meltdowns before people arrived Saturday morning. Those who know me know that I am usually the last person to worry about anything; how am I going to raise this child?!
The party was a lot of fun--we had friends both old and new come by, including one friend I recently got back in touch with from my middle school years in France. Facebook can do wonders.
Oh, there was one wrench thrown into my plans: I got food poisoning Thursday night. It was my own fault--I ate some rice pudding that had been sitting out on the counter most of the day. Yes, I knew I shouldn't eat it...I paid. Thursday night was not a good night, and Friday I was pretty much useless most of the day. So Saturday morning I had about three hours to do everything I had planned to do on Friday. Still, things turned out OK.
Now I can hear some of you asking since when are my parents back in Austria? Umm, since about a week ago? Maybe not quite that much. And yes, as of a few months ago they were supposed to be moving to Kansas. What can I say? Plans change. I spent my last two years of high school in Vienna, and am now looking forward to taking my family back to visit. Once we can come up with the money, which will probably be a couple of years...
Oh, and back to the topic of this post: we did spend this morning attending a co-op. I was very impressed with the moms doing the teaching. I only feel bad that I don't have much to contribute at this point; that may change, though, as someone suggested maybe I could run a sort of preschool class for the younger siblings. Lily, with her typical cautious/perfectionist approach to things, was a little stressed out by the co-op classes. She is also one of the youngest participants. She did enjoy the sewing and art projects, and I think once she has been a few times she will feel more comfortable. I am sooooo glad that I am not sending her away to kindergarten this year. She would be a constant nervous wreck! I think co-op will be good for her--let her expand her comfort zone a little, in a friendly environment with mom not too far away.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings! I've had several potential posts going through my head this last week, but have been to busy to write. Maybe if the kids sleep a little longer I'll write more.