Amazing Autumn

           She's done it again.  Just when I think she can not get any sweeter.  Or more thoughtful.  Or considerate, compassionate - well, more Kim-like, she surprises me!

          This morning, as I walked through the dense fog into the living room, my bare foot suddenly encountered a wet spot...

          "Ok, who spilled something?"  I asked Tonio and Autumn.  No answer.  But, their silence was damning.  "Was it water?  Or juice?" I asked.  "I dunno.  I didn't spill anything"  they answered in stereo.  "Ok, so what is this wet spot?"...upon closer inspection, I found that Bella had an 'accident'.  These guys like to get her crazy first thing in the morning.  Bella loves it, but they don't let her outside first to do her business.

         I lost it.  Steam started coming out of my ears as I told them that they know better, Bella will go inside more often if she is allowed to and we don't clean up right away.  The house will smell.  Did they want to live in a nasty, dirty house?  The volume rising as I wound up.  When your teachers come for home visits, what will they think?  Do your friends want to come see you at a trashed house? 

        By now, they are in motion, one getting paper towels, the other Resolve and they are cleaning.  I've clammed up, hating when I get upset with these little guys (Heckle and Jeckle) and go to get the steam cleaner, to deep clean it.

         The thing with carpets, is, they always seem to hold the dirt.  And when I was done with this spot, the water was pretty nasty.  I decided to leave the steam cleaner out and would try to 'chip away' (one of Kimmy's favorite phrases) at the carpet over the next few days.  Kim would do this every other month or so.  This would be my first attempt at it.

        After helping out in Autumn's class this morning, I came home and was able to do half the living room before it was time to go get the little ones.  The water from the steam cleaner looked like coffee.  Thick coffee.  I think the carpet has had it - anyone know a discount tiler?  There are multiple 'bald' spots, where, Bella, as a baby, ate the carpet down to the threads.  Kim would chase her around, so mad, trying to get her to stop and put her outside!  At the threshold of Autumn's and Tonio's rooms, our previous pup, Zona, had tried to eat her way out of their rooms, when locked in there for periods of time.  Kim had done a pretty good job of patching it up, but, Bella had dug Tonio's straight out.  Wherever carpet meets tile, there is now a gap, and, every now and again, a barefoot bambini screams in pain as they snag a bit of carpet tacking. 

            Well, when the little ones got home, I got them a snack (Tonio, my banana bread with cream cheese on it and Autumn, some fideo soup I made last night), they started their homework - they are both getting much better at this! Autumn noticed that carpet looked...improved, and said it looked nice.  I left them while I went to pick up Cody and his friend Jesus from high school and when I came back, Autumn presented me with these:

         Just like something Kim would have done for me...

         Yesterday, Tonio felt a little sad while in Mrs. Rienstra's class...she spent some time talking to Tonio, who told her he missed Kim.  She caringly  took him into the pod (room between the classes) and asked if he'd like to draw a picture for her or start a journal.  He drew this:

          The tree, is our largest olive tree in our front yard...our 'angel' tree.  He says it reminds him of Mama.  She loved birds, so, he has a nest of doves living in the tree.  He told me to look carefully at the tree, because, hidden in the leaves are eyes and nostrils - it's a T-Rex!  Note the short arms of the olive tree!  I asked him about the cloud, to explain that.  He says 'That?  It's just a monsoon rolling in!'.  He's still a little lost, just a little out of step...Mrs. Rienstra has already made him feel so comfortable in her classroom and stayed after with him yesterday to help him with homework and play games with him.

..........And Cody?  Cody has immersed himself into high school life.  He is enjoying all of his classes, and, the social aspect of high school, as well.  He's pretty automatic - gets his homework done first and then enjoys playing video games for awhile - often, after the little ones go to bed, we'll watch a movie together.  He's good company.

          We know we have a couple of challenges over the next few weeks or so - but, I feel, that we continue to be better equipped to help each other through...and when I start to slip off of the path, one of them, intuitively, nudges me back onto it...bambini sorprendenti!!  (Amazing children!)

         Love,

                 Dave