My Kids

My kids are all very interesting little creatures.

Scout will never have a heart attack. She is a free spirit personified, and when she walks into a room she immediately makes friends with everyone. She's a nut. She looks adorable in skinny jeans and Uggs (because it looks like the Uggs are going to swallow her up-- have you seen her teensy legs?)

Bo behaves really well if he has not eaten sugar, he has slept from 7-7 the night before, and it's not past 7. Otherwise, he is a dragon and cannot function. He's extremely social, and knows everything about everyone because he pays attention ("there's anna claire, mom. she has two brothers. Or, That's Max. He's in Mrs. Smith's class and he just had a birthday and he didn't pick spankings."). He will spend hours dribbling, just dribbling in the backyard, because he loves basketball and we have no hoop. He's an absolute doll.

Tucker is a piece of work. He's snuggly and hilarious, and I can't get enough of him. But he always climbs, always dumps out, always eats, and always screeches when he wants something. So, yes, I guess there are some days when I HAVE had enough. But then after a 3-minute break, I'm ready for more Tucker.

But let's talk about Spencer for a while. She came from Jason, which is point number one. His friends tell me that he is relentless, and that he would spend HOURS playing sports when he was younger. This is a trait that he passed down. Spencer will practice until she gets it right. And then keep practicing. I've never met a 9-year-old who is as intense and focused as she is--although I am sure they are out there somewhere. On game days (and the day before game days) she will not eat anything unhealthy. She actually is usually careful about what she eats, but will not bend the rules at all before games. So that's no sugar, no fried, no fatty. She takes it easy before games and won't exert too much energy so she's ready to play. She's so cerebral when she plays too. I love watching her mind work when she's positioning herself on the soccer field or dribbling down to get open. Sometime I worry about her intensity level and how it will never last. But if she's anything like her dad, who played baseball nonstop for close to twenty years, then maybe it will. And it's not a waste of time because she is making friends, getting exercise, and learning how hard work can pay off.

And there might be no point number two, because point number two actually is because of point number one (she came from Jason). She's really into school. Spencer is the kind of kid who plans ahead (I'm going to start on my spelling words due Thursday because I have soccer tomorrow night.) and who takes every assignment very seriously. Almost to the point of overdoing it. You might find her staying in from recess to finish the details on a picture from an assignment in class. She makes 5 times more notecards than necessary when researching a topic. And she really enjoys what she's learning. Some of these things we need to work on: time management, prioritizing, etc., but some of her quirky habits are going to help her be successful.

And point number three is that she has a heart for others. Homelessness bothers her. Poverty keeps her awake at night. But orphans really weigh heavy on her heart. She wants us to adopt a whole slew of kids. She doesn't understand why we haven't yet (and sometimes I don't have answers to that one). I think that's pretty great, because obviously more kids would take away our one-on-one time with her. But she can't stand thinking of kids being without a family.

Oh, my kids have their issues. They can make me want to tear my hair out, they fight, they have messy rooms, they say ugly things, but let's not focus on that here. I feel like I learn something from them every day. And they make me love being a mom.