liam "solves" the rubik's cube and other news

Apparently, Klaudia told Liam a couple weeks ago that she could solve the Rubik's cube pretty quickly and easily. It was a lesson he didn't forget.

So, it's been another busy week around here. Last weekend, we had ambitious plans to go to a beach or something (since our community pool is closed for the season already), but all that fell through due to a small-person rebellion. Instead, we spent most of the weekend trying to confine out-of-control kids to their room (Note to self: I've REALLY got to get that door refinished and put back up to corral them!) while simultaneously trying to console the little one, who had an ear infection and roseola making him miserable.

Luckily for our sanity, the week has vastly improved. We haven't done anything terribly exciting (though there's still hope for the weekend!) but we're working on settling into a routine. Since he's a big bad first grader now, Liam has homework four nights a week. Combine that with the homework Charlie gets from dog school, and I feel like I'm a student again ... you know, except for the part where I can't sleep all day and order pizza every night, and that other pesky part where I have actual responsibilities beyond just turning in a good paper now and then. Sigh. Where was I again?

Max's preschool has started up in a more formal way again, too, so both boys come home every night exhausted and fractious from the new demands on them during the day. But once the dinner is eaten, the bodies are washed, and the teeth are brushed, we all congregate upstairs, and Liam reads to us. This week, we've been reading one of Mike's childhood favorites, Harry and the Lady Next Door. The first night, we read two chapters, then decided to save the dramatic conclusion for the next night. But it turns out that Liam does have a little of his mother in him: He stayed up late reading ahead, racing to finish the book because he couldn't wait until the next day to get to the end. Which is exactly what I did last week when I had a few days to recuperate after my surgery -- I plowed through three pretty long books in a series, one each day, and couldn't rest until they were all done.

So far, Henry isn't showing much sign of wanting to read with us, so he mostly plays with puzzles or blocks, or whatever forbidden items his brothers have left carelessly out within his reach (this week's victims: painted pet rocks and a Star Wars LEGO ship). But he seems happy enough just to be there with us. And that kind of seems to be the theme lately for us all -- no big plans, but we're happy enough just to be together.