august rambles of various sorts.

The chilly car air swirls little hints of cinnamon Altoids and summer.  And blessings, definitely blessings.  I had a day to myself that had little to do with extravagance, and more to do with necessity.  Remarkable things are happening in my life; sometimes it takes a distant car ride in solitude to remember that the little things truly don't matter, and yet they matter most of all.  What a strange phenomenon.  And because the little things bring so much joy - Eisley made another tally at the top of her nights slept all the way through list.  In case you're wondering, we're up to a grand total of [drumroll] three.

I had my eyes checked and dilated yesterday, and aside from nearly screaming out loud in the parking lot when I saw a man in the front seat of my car as I went to get in (juuuust the seat, mmkay.  They are not kidding when they tell you that your vision won't be clear for the close up things), all is well and my prescription is now correct.  I can see Olympic scores from across the room!

Ruby is mastering the art of Solitaire.  I haven't a clue how she picks up such things, but numbers, letters, and learning seem to be a major part of her language.  We got the sad news yesterday that she wouldn't be accepted into preschool this fall due to the number of children that applied.  Not that I need any more confirmation about our move, but I seem to get a dose each and every day.  When the only school in our tiny town is turning away the four year olds of the program, there's an issue with things.  My heart was completely broken hearing the news, mostly on Ruby's behalf.  Selfishly, I'll gladly have her here at home for a little longer than we had planned.  It happened to fall behind an entire list of wrong yesterday, and I lost the battle to keep the tears in check.  I'm fairly certain November will be here faster than we know it because we have so many things to accomplish, but it still probably can't come fast enough.

I spent Tuesday night eating copious amounts of stuffed pizza and watching gymnastics.  It brought so many memories to life.  Back when we all had VCRs, we recorded the '96 gymnastics finals in Atlanta.  It was a time when I ate, slept, and breathed gymnastics on a repeat reel.  When I wasn't living at the gym, I was orchestrating me own gymnastics meets in our living room where the couch was the makeshift vault.  I can't even say how many times I watched that tape.  I know so many things about those Olympics; things I didn't even realize I remembered until last night.  It made me realize how excited I am to have my girls find something they are absolutely passionate about.  I was thrilled to watch those girls last night win just like the girls I idolized so much did in 1996.  There are bound to be girls everywhere watching those finals on their DVRs for months to come.

I have no idea how it's August.  I have no idea how my baby is now 17 months old.  I have no idea how we'll be in a completely different place in three months.  At the end of this month, fall is in full swing in my fall-loving mind.

Rubyisms:


Lately, Ruby has been all about putting off bed time routines because there are lions and tigers in the bathroom which she is rather afraid of waking up.

In the car, Ruby recently said, "Mom.  Eisley is such a little muffin."

Favorite Eisley words: tootsies, sissy, MAMA, pup-pup, cookie (toooookie), thank you, night night, all gone, water (wah-wah), and bye bye.  Her vocabulary has taken off at full speed.  And so have her gross motor skills, as she has discovered how to scale the dining room table at breakneck speed.