You Know You're in an Economic Crisis when:

1. You mumble outloud in the grocery aisle when noticing price jumps on products.

2. You save and wrap up the last 4 or 5 bites of your toddler's mac and cheese (gluten free is pricey, so cut me a break).

3. Decisions about plans and what to do over the weekend involve the PLG "is it worth the cost of gas?" conversation.

4. You notice, for the first time, other people putting products back on the shelves after carrying them around in their cart and then deciding against them (thought it was just me and my gourmet cheeses).

5. Starbuck's ground coffee is regularly on sale at DandW.

6. You drink crappy wine...not all the time...but you do it. And you don't care.

7. You consider how important all of of your child's prescriptions are...and then buy them anyway.

8. You marvel at the fact that your bottle of vodka is "the same price it is at Costco, honey!!!" as it is at your local Rite Aid. But don't get too excited, the Huggies Pull-Ups will literally reach out and snatch your paycheck.
Seriously.

9. After years of worshipping Bill Maher, you cancel your HBO.

10. You make PLG lists on your blog about money woes.

Uggghhh...can we just elect a Democrat already?
(that was, incidentally, my first title for this post)

That's all.

Just in case you were wondering...

...if I have moments of sheer bliss and happiness with my boys...I do.

Today has been such a great day from the start, so it's best to get at my blog before things change!
Woke up this morning to a few moments of total hilarity:

*Benjamin woke up first, calling out that his pull-up was wet. I went into his room and said "good morning", the whole routine...and helped him take off his wet bottoms. He proceeded to head downstairs bare-bottomed, while I slipped into the upstairs bathroom real quick to pee. I heard Jonny stirring, but he wasn't noisy yet, so I just called out "Morning, Jonny! Be there in a minute, Bud!"
I'm peeing (sorry Shawn), and I look over to my right, and what occured in the next few moments is exactly as follows (no, I mean NO exaggeration):
Jonathan's door opens...and out he walks, casually, dragging his blanket like Linus...and scratching the back of his head.
That's right. Got himself out of his crib.
What's possibly the funniest part of this is that I never even heard him climbing out. He was completely nonchalant about the whole thing, barely acknowledging me when he walked out into the hallway and saw me sitting on the potty.
My eyes were as big as saucers...I'm honestly not sure when I've been that surprised.

*Just then, as I'm marveling at this latest feat of monkey-dom on Jonny's part...I hear a cupboard open and slam shut downstairs, as Benjamin calls out:
"Mommm-aay! Mommm-aaay! We're out of pull-ups!"

So hilarious.
Only topped, maybe, by the comment in the car yesterday while driving home from pre-school.

"How was pre-school today, Bud? What'd you guys do? Anything exciting?" I ask.

(in Benjamin hanger pulling on the corner of his mouth voice) "Ehhh...naa...Mommy, you don't have to worry bout me. I was just hangin out."

But perhaps, the most adorable and endearing...right after lunch, as I was cleaning up the rice off the floor, Benjamin came up and hugged me in the most genuine, unassuming, non-attention-seeking way. Just quietly, and totally unprovoked.
I made one of my "oh, I just love you!" noises and Benjamin says to me:
"Mommy, you are just the most special child and I love you, ok?"

Divine interventioin, to be sure.
I'm certain of it.

Dear Brian...

You can come home now.

Seriously, it's ok.
I know it's much more fun to be in San Francisco than on Santa Cruz these days...well, less chaotic, anyway. But we miss you.
I miss you.
In the past few days I've become increasingly convinced that the boys have it out for me...they are conspiring, I'm sure of it.
You'll be happy to know that I took your suggestion this morning about pre-school drop off and put Jonny in the Maclaren.
Didn't work. He managed to scream and push himself hard enough against the straps that he was practically standing upright in the stroller. And before I could get to him, he had grabbed a child's jacket out of their cubby, thrown it on the floor and yanked down the sign-in clipboard from the wall.
So, yes...the stroller kept him from actually crossing the thresh-hold into the room and getting into the paint. You were right about that. Kudos to you. Have another round of scotch for that bit of advice tonight...on the company, of course...and while you're at it, see if they can swing my bill from Jonny's allergist visit. I mean, they can pay for your sushi and fancy drinks, I'd like to think they could maybe afford those scripts? I'm just saying.
(p.s. see #12 added to yesterday's list)

Anyway, pre-school.
At pick-up, on the playground, it was JONATHAN who got into fisticuffs with another child...all while trying to monopolize the monkey bars. He hangs--doesn't yet know how to cross them--but refuses to let go...at all. Ever. And of course this frustrates the age-appropriate population of kids lined up to cross the bars. What can I do?
I decided not to use the stroller for pick-up, so when we left the playground, he ended up running across the parking lot so fast I couldn't keep up. When I got to him, he just went horizontal on me and screamed so loud I just knew the ChildAbusePreventionPeople...wherever they were... were in earshot.
He's killing me, Brian. Killing me. And I would just love maybe ten minutes around dinner time where he wasn't fighting with Benjamin or climbing on something or dumping something in the toilet. I'd love five minutes to go to the bathroom.
Is that too much to ask?

And why don't boys play with dolls? Why don't they sit quietly and put pretend makeup on pretend doll faces? I could even take the "girl fighting" if it meant my kitchen ceiling wouldn't spring a leak on me. Or my toilet overflow. (we've lost two rolls of tee pee this week)

Ok.
Deep breath.
You are right, it will be Friday soon. And we can do this crazy job together.
But in the meantime, would you be ever so sweet and just not call me while you're away? I love you more than life and know all you want is to just connect and hear my voice, but I'm just afraid that if you do call anytime in the next 24 hours, you're going to find Joan Crawford on the other end, screaming about "wire hangers!!!"...instead of your fun-loving wife.

Until then, enjoy the Rice-a-Roni.

Things I Never Imagined Myself Doing:

1. Hosting a political event in my living room.

2. Carrying a manic 2yr old upside down, screaming and covered in blue paint (set out for pre-schoolers) out of my older child's pre-school class.

3. Shopping at grocery with said paint on my own shirt.

4. Asking my garbage man if he's registered to vote.

5. Planning a Halloween costume for myself that is sure to make me look homely, frumpy and completely heinus.

6. Turning in two separate pictures (one of me with Benjamin, the other of Brian and the boys) to Benjamin's pre-school teachers on "family picture" day, when I couldn't seem to dig up a picture of our entire family together. PLG.
Could that look more like a divorced family?

7. Frantically placing buckets and towels underneath my kitchen island light fixture...that was spewing water like Old Faithful after the boys flooded the upstairs bathroom.
(Reason for no blog entry that day: too many titles from which to choose)

8. Buying Halloween decorations for my house. (I swear I'll never buy a sweater, though)

9. Watching more news than reality tv.

10. Letting my kids eat popsicles at 10:30 in the morning.

So I guess you could say I've been busy lately. Happy? Of course. Frantic? Always. I had just watched a heartwarming movie on HBO Sunday night, after telling my husband that I didn't want any conversation...just wanted to veg and not talk to anybody. Anyway, I watched this wonderful movie and went to bed completely motivated to wake up with positive energy for my boys. In reality, I do this every day...but lately they've been pushing me right to the edge and over ten-thousand feet. So I wake up, make a great breakfast and fill my coffee cup...and...we're an hour and a half into our day when I get a phone call and decide--God forbid--to answer it. I chat with my girlfriend for a bit and as expected, mayhem ensues. Oh, I should add something here:

11. Yelling at my kids while on the phone with a friend. I swore up and down and every which way around the barn that I would NEVER do that one.

So they scurry upstairs, where the possibilities for mischief are endless, but I've got them pegged for playing in B's room and dancing to the b-ball hoop music (when the ball goes through the hoop, music and cheering erupts...but they've taken to just hitting the button without even introducing a ball into the equation...and dancing like total jack-a**es.....Yup, I said it...).
The amount of time they're upstairs is less than enough for me to even pee, pour another cup of coffee or fold an ounce of laundry.
But when I get upstairs, I find Jonny standing on the toilet and Benjamin on the stool...each of them laughing in hysterics (yet Benjamin, with a hint of foreboding when he sees me)...and me...up to my ankles in water. The sink is flowing over with water and flooding all over the floor...and out onto the carpeted upstairs hallway.

And I thought I wasn't going to blog about that one.
At any rate, I'll leave it at that. Except to add that we now have a new strip of yellowish-orange on our kitchen ceiling from the literal geyser that sprang forth over our light fixture.
Good times!

I mean this when I say that my life these days seems to be bringing with it, on a daily basis, situations I never deemed myself equipped with which to deal.
But somehow I'm getting through...yoga helps. Yoga REALLY helps.
And so does Pinot Noir. And friends...and Obama parties.:)
And a new, inspiring, thought-provoking, intellectually and socially relevant minister at church.

Life's pretty incredible, actually.
Just kinda wet sometimes.

And always nearing cocktail hour at warp speed.


Edited to add the following:
12. Paying $150 for allergy prescriptions.

New president, anyone?

"Be the Change"

So proud of my brother Jon.

As of yesterday afternoon, he is in Uganda (in Africa) on a goodwill mission through his local Rotary organization. He'll be gone until late September, and I miss being able to hear his voice already. But I know that even in the last 24 hours he's already experienced the kinds of things that are hard to put into words...perspective gaining, eye-opening...and truly life-changing.

As I said over a "toast" at dinner with my family last Saturday night, Jon never does anything in a small way. Growing up, I don't think any of us imagined he'd be the one to take such huge leaps...but as I've come to realize, as I'm sure the rest of my family has, he is the kind of person that chooses adversity (and sometimes even conflict, really) in the most deliberate way...in order to be sure that he's truly coming to terms with his own kind of truth. He's flawed and imperfect, yes...but is easily one of the most inspiring people I know at the same time. Going to great lengths to broaden his world view...that's Jon. Never makes things simple for himself, to be certain.

And this isn't to say that any of the rest of us aren't able to be effective in smaller, less-noticeable ways...in fact, I know that's not true at all. I'm proud of anyone in my family who gets out there to make a difference. I just know that for Jon, this wasn't an easy decision.

I know that, because I just spent a few days of real quality time with him...and I'm so grateful.

Anyway, hats off to you Jon...whatever you're doing right now, I'm thinking about you and love you lots!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"...this most famous quote seems awfully fitting today.

Can't Help Myself

Lately, it seems, there are many other people putting into words what I cannot.
And here's my latest fave:

(please forgive me for beating this "horse" to death...though I do warn you, it may just be the beginning)

Palin: wrong woman, wrong message
Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.
By Gloria Steinem September 4, 2008

Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

This is not to beat up on Palin. I defend her right to be wrong, even on issues that matter most to me. I regret that people say she can't do the job because she has children in need of care, especially if they wouldn't say the same about a father. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience.Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."
She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income or sales tax. Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Or perhaps McCain is following the Bush administration habit, as in the Justice Department, of putting a job candidate's views on "God, guns and gays" ahead of competence. The difference is that McCain is filling a job one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency. So let's be clear: The culprit is John McCain. He may have chosen Palin out of change-envy, or a belief that women can't tell the difference between form and content, but the main motive was to please right-wing ideologues; the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom. If that were not the case, McCain could have chosen a woman who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; someone like Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. McCain could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions, right down to opposing the Violence Against Women Act. Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.I don't doubt her sincerity. As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., she doesn't just support killing animals from helicopters, she does it herself. She doesn't just talk about increasing the use of fossil fuels but puts a coal-burning power plant in her own small town. She doesn't just echo McCain's pledge to criminalize abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade, she says that if one of her daughters were impregnated by rape or incest, she should bear the child. She not only opposes reproductive freedom as a human right but implies that it dictates abortion, without saying that it also protects the right to have a child.So far, the major new McCain supporter that Palin has attracted is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Of course, for Dobson, "women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership," so he may be voting for Palin's husband.

Being a hope-a-holic, however, I can see two long-term bipartisan gains from this contest. Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.And American women, who suffer more because of having two full-time jobs than from any other single injustice, finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are campaigning on their belief that men should be, can be and want to be at home for their children. This could be huge.

Gloria Steinem is an author, feminist organizer and co-founder of the Women's Media Center. She supported Hillary Clinton and is now supporting Barack Obama.

And P.S.???

This is something I've been wondering for the past few weeks, and I am seriously wanting to know:

Who the hell is T. Boone Pickens???

That's all.

Organizing...

This week has been all about a new fall schedule, and getting the boys signed up and ready for the upcoming weeks. Benjamin starts preschool and a new session of Kidfit, plus swim lessons at East Hills. Jonny starts a Rompers class at East Hills and--this morning--a Music Together class with Mommy.

But last night I attended what might be the most important "meeting" of the week. With my mom, I gathered with several other Obama supporters at an "Obama party". It was held in the living room of one of my mom's friends from the GR Civic Theater. John March--a local, white, well-off, attorney (at one of GR's top firms) working in a conservative environment...and yet, unbelievably passionate about change for our country. Certainly breaking the mold.
At any rate, the gathering of people was, for sure, diverse...but most of all, impassioned and motivated. Several people spoke about their own story, why they are supporting Obama, etc...including myself. And once that happened, I realized just how devoted I am to this cause. And if I want to see my state go "blue", it's going to need more than my putting a yard sign in front of my house. Even if it does irk my neighbor across the street.
My point is that I'm ready. Ready to do more. I've signed up to do something I never even DREAMED I'd feel comfortable with, which is to go door to door. But when I think about my candidate, I realize that's the kind of campaign he's running...one from the ground up, with an emphasis on the impact of each single person. And the power of face to face contact.
Also? I'm going to host a party at my house. I might not have as nice of a living room to host it in...or as many nice wine glasses...but somehow I just don't think that's the point.
The campaign reps that attended and led our event amazed me. Neither of them from Michigan, both having uprooted their lives for the past 6 months to devote their energies to this campaign. One an owner of a marketing firm, the other a college student on scholarship. They both gave it all up to work for Barack. And both are living in homes of strangers from month to month, state to state, community to community. Gettin it done!

Point is, I'm just so freakin inspired and ready to put more of myself into this. I've been talking for a long time about how much I believe in this process, this candidate, etc...but I've never been more convinced of the need for my own voice being added to the effort.
That is, afterall, what Barack has been asking for all along...involvement from the ground up, not the other way around.
And so, I want to leave today's entry with an excerpt from an on point email I received today from the Obama campaign. Thought it pretty much summed up how I was feeling last night. How I felt about the speech by Palin (even though I turned it off half-way through)...but mostly, how I feel about moving forward.
I'm tired of the divisiveness from the Right.
Tired of being pandered to, simply because I'm a white, female, suburban mom and member of the middle class.
Tired of having my intelligence low-balled. And my expectations underestimated.
Tired of not doing anything more than stewing around getting frustrated.

Not when the stakes are this high.

And so, here's the quote from David Plouffe:

You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together.
Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack's experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.Let's clarify something for them right now. Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies. And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning. Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.Meanwhile, we still haven't gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies. It's now clear that John McCain's campaign has decided that desperate lies and personal attacks -- on Barack Obama and on you -- are the only way they can earn a third term for the Bush policies that McCain has supported more than 90 percent of the time.

Also felt like adding this article to today's post.
Thanks, Steph.:)

A Few Things I'll Remember Most...

Summer officially came to a close this past weekend, which has left me a bit melancholy. Fortunately, we managed to fill our Labor Day Weekend with all the things we love about summer...and even better, with some of the people we've grown to enjoy the most.
Days at the pool have been some of the best times we've had as a family. Watching the boys grow more comfortable--and even daring--in the water, playing basketball at the kid-sized b-ball court (making mental note of Jonny's crazy skills already...seriously? a basket from free-throw-range?), watching them dig canals and rivers in the giant sandbox and play on the jungle gym in their sandy swimtrunks, and of course...laughing hysterically as their daddy comes shooting out of the water slide. The pool has been invaluable this summer. We've loved the camaraderie of several friends on many days/nights, but the best times were the ones where we were there just as a family...driving home with worn out, chlorine-soaked and butt-happy toddlers in the back of our mini-van.
And yes, we love our mini. So give us a break.

Neighborhood gatherings were at no shortage this summer, either. Some planned in advance, but most of them impromptu. And always with the icees. If I cut one plastic end of off an icee pop this summer, I did it a thousand times. Anyone else?
We do love our neighbors, though, and are so grateful for them. Sometime around late May we decided on a tradition with our friends Brian and Megan that if there was ever a Friday night that we were both free (which, unfortunately, only ended up happening about 3 or 4 times), we would gather at one of our houses for a BBQ. This past Friday night was one of the best. Annabel and Benjamin are, as Megan and I noted, unbelievably compatible as buds. They play so well together and have lengthy conversations...hysterical. Olivia and Jonathan haven't exactly bonded yet, but we see some serious plans being made in the way they look at eachother.:) But the best of all is the friendship that's developed with the adults. This past Friday night we sat in their back screened-in porch drinking margaritas while Jonathan slept in a pack-n-play upstairs, and Benjamin watched Arthur with Annabel on the couch. We laughed, talked (about politics mostly...one of our favorite things to discuss) and even managed to gossip like schoolgirls about the neighborhood. I think it was the first time I realized just how comfortable we've become with them.
It would've been a completely respectable evening (even with the gossip...you know you all do it) had we ended it there, but somewhere around 9pm Ted and Maureen (they need their own blog entry) showed up with drinks in their hands and invited us down to sit in their driveway around the chiminay (nooo idea how you spell that thing). So we went, bringing a monitor to listen for the little ones and letting Benjamin run around the backyard and play in the neighbor's tree fort.
At 9pm.
And we stayed until 11pm.
Benjamin was a mess. And so were the adults.:)
But it was, by far, one of the best Friday nights we had this summer. Even got to hear Ted talk about his job...which he hardly does (he's a medical examiner for Kent County).

The rest of the weekend was mostly time spent with other neighbors, including some of our faves, Sarah and Ryan. I adore these kids. I've been watching them, for the past year and a half, get older and more mature...but still have an unusual amount of patience with our boys. They show real interest in them and are always introducing them to the things I know I wouldn't...like how to make water balloons (ok, I'd probably do that), hold frogs and toads (um, no...I'd never do that), how to play dodgeball, four square, do somersaults (no one wants to see me do that), and so many other creative and rambunctious ways to pass the time.
Ryan will even be skateboarding down Santa Cruz with other boys his age...and when Benjamin runs to the edge of the sidewalk and calls his name (PLG), he'll stop, walk over, and kneel down by Benjamin and show him how the board works. One of these days I'm going to have to slip the kid a 5-spot for all the times he's kept B busy while I make dinner, too.
Anyway, we love having Ryan and Sarah nextdoor. After all, Sarah taught Benjamin how to sit with his hands in chin-mudra and chant "Om".
The second to last picture was taken by Brian Miller on a night out we had a few weekends ago...I think it was at Hopcat Brewery. At any rate, we all got a bit shnockered on pints (starting at Graydon's) that night. It was, gratefully, much like many other fun nights with friends we've been able to enjoy this summer...even a few out just the two of us, too. And of course I count my own family in the mix here, because holy cow...those were some of the rowdiest nights of all.:)

The last pic is of something I will always remember and hold dear...the way Jonny lays his head on my shoulder, especially with a stuffed animal or blankie to cuddle against. Both my boys are highly affectionate and loving, but Jonathan is--by far--a lot more cuddly. The boy loves to snuggle. And even though I know he'll always be this way, I know that the days of him cuddling so comfortably on my shoulder that he falls asleep are numbered.
Plus, he's getting damn heavy.

Important to note here, I think, are the less happy--but equally memorable--moments:

*saying goodbye to Allie and wishing her well at U of M
*Benjamin starring in an ad for Global Relief (impetigo, anyone?)
*Jonny slipping off of a deck chair at Orchard Hills and conking his head on the cement (the number of times this kid fell over this summer is too high to count, but this one was scary)
*Brian traveling...a lot (most memorable? Brian: "Hi honey, I'm eating sushi at a sweet sushi bar in Manhattan" Me: "Really? That is so awesome. Jonathan just pooped in the bathtub. Gotta jettison the toys asap.")
*Potty frustrations
*Tim Russert (I think that was springtime...but we think about it still to this day)
*the lady who verbally attacked me in the parking lot of Home Fabrics (did I not post about this?)
*the near-anxiety attack I had in Seattle when it got to be just one day too many away from my boys
*missing the pulled-pork cook-off (thanks for the leftovers, though, Shawn!)

At any rate, it's been one for the books.
And today...today Benjamin started preschool. Well, he had his "meet and greet", anyway. And it was beyond successful. To illustrate this, I will end this post with the following quotes taken from our morning at Mayflower.

Brian, as we pull into parking lot: "This is your preschool, Bud...isn't it great?"
Benjamin: "Aww, yeah...I think it is gonna be great." (if you're at all familiar with B's "drawl", then you hear this being said just perfectly)

Benjamin, to Lily McIntosh, upon seeing her in the hallway: "Hey Lily! This is preschool!"

Me, as we wait in the hallway outside his classroom to meet his teachers: "Well, we need to wait, Bud...because it's not our turn yet."
Benjamin: "But I want to go in, Mommy...I'm so excited to go in!"
(add here that when we finally did go in, he walked right up to the teachers, said his hellos...and disappeared to the toy area, without so much as a glance our way the entire time)

Me, as I fastened his carseat: "So next time we come, you're gonna stay...and Mommy will come back after a bit...just like I do at East Hills and The MAC...that sound pretty ok, Buddy?"

Benjamin: "Huh...yeaah...I think it surely does, Mommy."
Brian and me: bug-eyed and speechless in the front seat. Trying so hard not to laugh...and me...not to cry.

Need I say more.
Fall is officially here, and it seems we're all ready for it.