Walls Are Goin' Up!

I just might let myself get excited now. The lease is final--we are just waiting for the actual papers to be ready to sign, but all the dealing is done. There is a floor and there are walls. There is something so satifyingly real about seeing those walls and walking through the floorplan that I have studied and debated for months. So I'm going to actually say, I think we might truly have a restaurant next summer--probably in June. Seriously. I took more pictures of the kids on the site, and Jack discovering the big front loaders and such which I will post to flickr soon.

I wrote once about the decision to cater in the meantime. Well, we did decide to go ahead with that, and there are ads that will be going out in October, and we have things scheduled. Just one small problem, we don't have a kitchen. Lucho threw a fit, and I'm still trying to find a way around him or a different space. I would say more, but this is a public space and I don't have anything nice to say. There has to be a way around him. He can't win this. Or there has to be another kitchen. I've probably said too much, so moving on . . .

Our house has more important big news: Lucy Pooped in the Potty!! After a two year long battle of wills, which she has won without hardly a contest, she took herself to the potty without saying a thing, and just did it. All the cajoling, bribing, begging, punishing, pleading, and singing on the potty and she just went to the potty and did it. Amazing! Although unexplicable, I'm willing to call it a success and celebrate!

And now to get our minds literally out of the gutter (I know it's an awful pun, but I just couldn't resist, and I'm typing this late at night) I have discovered the cutest new craft--see pictures. The pink one is a mouse and the green one is a turtle. They are called "amigurumi" and the idea comes from Japan. My kids like them--Jack is particularly fond of throwing the heads around before I get them sewn onto the bodies. They are way fun to make. And, they make me rather happy.

Lucy, the Big Girl Preschooler!

This last Tuesday, Lucy had her first day of preschool. And, although Lucy is no social maverick, we survived. Most importantly, they didn't kick her out.

The night before we had three or four different potty accidents, she spent the entire night screaming at us, and I was convinced they would refuse to have her the next day. I even called my mom, desperate for advice, and ended up arguing with her a little over the best approach. Finally, I just kinda gave up. I mean, we have worked this whole summer to potty-train and prepare her for preschool. There wasn't much left that we could do for her.

So Tuesday, we get ready and despite having to get her immunization record last minute, we were on time. Applause for me because being on time anywhere is a serious feat! It was simply an open house for the first day. A come in, play with the toys and get acquainted with the space and people sort of day while the moms, and a few dads, are still around. Lucy was really excited, which means that she promptly screamed at the teachers for talking to her. Typical. After some soothing, a timeout and a few threats, we finally discovered a toy that she liked, away from all the other people (not a surprise). Jack on the other hand, easily made friends with three other boys who were playing with trains and was content and at home with the entire thing.

The cutest moment to me was when she asked me to take off her sweater, and then took it from me to iron it with their play iron. Precious. Although, Lucy didn't really play with any of the other kids, I was really proud of her. She didn't fall to pieces, and she played very close to the other children, covertly studying what they were doing. She really did well for her. I had a chance to warn the teachers about the potty issues and the screaming, as if they didn't notice. But I'm pretty sure that most the other kids are not that much better potty trained than her, and I don't think she's even the worst screamer that they've ever seen.

On Thursday, she had her first real day of preschool. By this point, I was more worried about having to tell Jack that he didn't get to go, than Lucy going. Again, she screamed a few times, but I guess she calmed down pretty quick. The teachers had me leave her at the door and walk away, which was so odd. Jack didn't mind at all. He got to go to the office with me and flirted up a storm with the girls. Then he went shopping with me, and I guess he thought that I wasn't looking because he tried to slip five different bags of Mike and Ikes in the basket. Sneaky little devil.

After preschool, Lucy said that she went down the slide, and that she likes Mrs. Cutie (it's really Mrs. Koday, but Lucy says Cutie). I don't know if she talked to the other kids. The teachers said that she did well.

Ever since, she's been telling me that she's a Big Girl. She has never once cared before to be a Big Girl. It has never interested her. There was nothing cool about Big Girls compared with princesses, fairies (berries, Lucy calls them) or dancers (dans-swers). And now, all of the sudden, she is a Big Girl. You see, in Lucy's world it is okay for everything to turn upside down from one day to the next, as long as it was her idea first. Of course.