So the kids started school on Friday and call me crazy, but WHY would you start school on a Friday? Anyway, they started school and I don't know what to do with myself. I am so used to caring for three kids all day that I'm not sure what do with only one. And a not-so-needy one at that. I mean Riley is pretty easy as far as my babies go. And I am very happy he is, cause we were due one. But now that I am home all day I am a little lonely and bored. I mean, it isn't like I don't have tons of stuff to do, but.. yeah, I don't wanna. I'm just relishing the quiet in the house. And trying not to look at the pile of laundry that has accumulated this week. But instead of buckling down and getting busy I decided to plop down on the sofa, download some new pictures, write this blog and play a little poker with my friend in Florida. She is expecting some bad weather and I felt it my duty as her friend to reassure her and keep her company during this tumultuous time. See how good of a friend I am? While she was busy taking all my chips I was busy sorting pictures. Here is what I've come up with. Some goofy, some sweet, but all of them are my babies (and some of our cat - Ruru).

This is Emma after her first official day of the first week of school. Wait, huh? What did I just say? Ok, let me put it this way. This was taken on Monday at the park after I picked the kids up from school. She loved her dress and was a little concerned she was getting it dirty in the sand. Bless her little diva heart!



And this little dude. He is trouble, let me tell you! He was busy grabbing handfuls of sand and throwing them out in front of him. He thought it was hilarious. I could only think about the sand I had to clean out of all his crevices!



I don't have a picture of Stevie on that day. He ran off and made a friend, so I am reverting back to the "First Day of School" on Friday. Andy was walking them in to class pushing Riley in the stoller and Stevie was mad at me. He was mad at me because he didn't like the heavy back pack on wheels that he  picked out. He insisted on having it because he saw all the other kids last year with them. But now that he had to carry it full of supplies he decided it was too big. When I suggested he use the rollers he said he wasn't tall enough for the long handle and he ended up dragging it. So now the fancy shmancy backpack that he had to have wasn't as cool as it looked. I ended up buying him another backpack fit more for his size. Needless to say, he was no longer mad at me for the backpack mishap and he had a great day at school.



Here is Riley this afternoon. He's having a difficult time adjusting to Emma and Stevie being at school. He wanders from room to room grunting and making noises. Then he comes to me and pulls the one load of laundry I got folded today off the couch. So I took him out in the yard to play for a little while. Our neighbors dog, Gopher, came wandering over and decided to check out this new walking, drooling, and squeaking figure who smelled like milk. Riley said "uogh" and tried to pinch his nose. Gopher wasn't too impressed. And like the cat, he decided to give this new creature a wide berth. Yes, the dog is afraid of our cat. Go figure.



Speaking of cats, here is Ruru. It is a long story why she is called that. So pull up a seat and take a listen or, if you don't feel like hearing one more story about my life, pick another blog to read, cause this one is finished. Period. End of story. Thanks for listening. I'll be here all week.



I thought you would want to hear more. Ok, so the story of how Ruru got her name. On a visit to my brother and his family near Atlanta one year we had the pleasure of meeting his cat named......kitty.  I know, not real original, but she was loved. She was a fiesty thing being that he played roughly with her, but she was also very cute and lovable. When discussing the ins and outs of neutering pets, my vastly knowledgeable husband pontificated that if cats got "fixed" were they not now inherently gender neutral. And if so why couldn't "female" cats have male names like 'Rufus'. So when the visit was coming to an end my brother told me that they were thinking of getting rid of the cat because with their new daughter in the house it was a little.....crowded and time consuming. So I convinced my husband that we needed a cat so that our child could grow up with a loving companion. Of course the real truth was that I wanted the cat. Having grown up with pets all our life I enjoyed the sweet comfort a cat can bring. The way they snuggle up to you and trust you completely. Not so unlike my children, but furrier. So of course, being the man who promised to "get me anything I wanted within his means" he said yes. But nothing would do with having a cat named kitty or rufus. So I, in a fit of intelligent brainstorming, came up with a compromise. I named her "Ruru". And we brought her home with us. That was 5 years ago. She is a healthy, funny, quirky, lovable little creature who has attached herself to me as her new "momma". She even likes my kids! Sometime when I wake during one of my many times at night I find her snuggled up in the bed with one of them. She looks up at me with her eyes glowing in the nightlight and gives me her typical 'puuuroower" sound. It's kind of mix between a half meow and purr. I scratch her soft head and tell her what a good kitty she is and leave her to protect my kids from whatever monster might lurk in their dreams. She's a good cat. We all love her fiercely. Even my husband does. Especially when she lays in his office chair and plays office kitty and leaves him a hairy reminder of her presence.

So now the dryer is done and I truly have got to get up. I'm going. Right now. Here I go. Ok, one more hand of poker. But then I really am going to finish that laundry.