First day of school...

It's back to school week here at our house! DD1 began 4th grade - and DD2 started 1st grade. They seem quite happy so far, DD1 said she had lunch "with the girls." DD2 came home from the first day and told me she had made a new friend. All is well.

Now I will tell you of my shame: each and every year I cry on the first day of school.

Why? Heaven only knows... but I am that mom, the one you can place bets will be crying at first day drop off. One of the other first grade moms was fine until she saw me crying... and then she started too. At afternoon pick up that first day a mom who has known me for four years was laughing and said she should have warned her friend not to stand near me that morning because I always cry! It's really ridiculous, I even cried over my 4th grader this year and 4th grade isn't some huge milestone or anything.

When I got home I cried again. Partly because I'm afraid my kids are growning up too fast, partly because I don't know what becomes of me as they get older and need me less, and partly because I didn't really have anyone to call and talk to. It's one of those times that my mom would have been able to understand. She would have had sympathized with me, and then we would have shared a laugh at my expense - because I truly am a total sap... and she so got that about me.

The Tooth Fairy

I have it on good word from my friend who grew up in Poland that the Tooth Fairy is an American thing. (There are tooth losing related rituals in other cultures - but most of them involve little mice taking the teeth, which is simply not true and completely ridiculous.) Imagine her surprise when her kindergarten daughter lost her first tooth and started wondering how much the Tooth Fairy would leave.

DD2 is in the throes of Tooth Fairy fantasy. Just having lost teeth numbers 3 and 4 (with a little help from the dentist yesterday - as her teeth don't come out on their own, just like mine as a child) it was time for a visit from the Tooth Fairy last night.

At 11:30pm, just after the Tooth Fairy had retired for the night, she popped up out of bed whispering, "Oh God, I forgot about DD2!" I go downstairs, grab the greenbacks out of my purse (because she'd found my stash of gold dollar coins earlier in the Summer - so I can't use anything so obvious), and dash back upstairs. I kid you not, as I'm slipping the teeth out of the pouch SHE SAT UP AND LOOKED AT ME.

My heart stopped. I smiled at her, quietly murmured in her ear "Mommy is just kissing you Goodnight like always." Kissed her cheek, left quietly. I waited about 15 minutes before attempting to slip the newly filled satin pouch back under her pillow. (I'm sure I was a sight, crawling stealthily in to her room.) Then I returned to my room and cried, afraid I have screwed up one of the most fun things about being six years old for my daughter.

This morning she appears to have no memory of seeing me last night. She probably was fast asleep and truly remembers nothing - but I wonder.

I wonder.

Daily Drama

Welcome to the House of Daily Drama. With two daughters it's always something dramatic. How do girls even live past the age of 10 with all the tragedy and chaos they create? You'd think their hearts would give out...

8:15am


DD1: "Oh NO! Our Webkinz account is going to expire!"

DD2: "No! Mama!!!! Our Webkinz will all die and we can't play with them anymore." (comes running to get me)

DD1: "It's going to EXPIRE! Mom!!" (Trying to push her way past her sister in an attempt to get to me first)

Me: "When is it going to expire?" (thinking to myself it hasn't been all that long since we registered a new precious Webkinz family member and getting annoyed that Webkinz seems to have shortened their 'free' membership time...)

DD1: "APRIL SECOND, TWO THOUSAND AND TEN"

Me: "Are you KIDDING me with this? That happens to be NEXT APRIL. I think you can stop panicking - you have 8 months. Now get out of here, and shut the bathroom door on the way out."

DD1: "Well, to be on the safe side...."

Me: "NO."

SMA Friday!!!!

I like this picture of Hugh, he looks just like Husband's friend, Brian.

I blame Farm Town...

Has anyone given up on ever seeing me blog again? I blame Farm Town.

What is Farm Town? It's basically a Sims type game, but building farms, and it's addictive. I'm on the Farm Town that is connected to Facebook - although I think MySpace also offers the app.

I'm not kidding - it's a total time suck. My kids are telling me I'm on there too much... one night last week my husband looked over while I was on the computer. He asked, "You farmin?" I said, "No, I'm doing research." DD1 shouts from the family room, "Yea, research on FARM TOWN!" (Which I wasn't... really... maybe a little...) My sister-in-law and I are arranging times to harvest each other's farms (in pursuit of the magical gold coins we so desperately need to pimp out our farms), and even texting each other farm updates. ("My grapes are going to ferment on the vine - where are you??") I can't stop.

So, right now I'm on Facebook a lot. I've neglected my blog, although My Selective Reality is still going strong and slowly gaining readership. (However, I didn't even get my recap up until last night this week - and my aim is always no later than Tuesday afternoon so I'm slacking there, too.) When Project Runway starts I don't know how I'll balance it all out. (TGFTDVR... Thank God for the DVR)

So what have I learned from my foray in to Farm Town that I didn't know before? I know that I was correct in suspecting that I would be a Sims addict if I had ever installed them on my computer two Christmases ago. (I told my husband that I'd keep it in case I changed my mind, but I was pretty sure if I started a Sims life I'd never leave the computer again. CORRECT.)

I have missed my blog, missed sharing my life with God only knows who stumbles by, and am going to try to cut down on my latest obsession. After all, in any good 12 step program, the first step is admitting you have a problem.

My name is Dodi, and I'm a Farm Town Addict...