R Starts Preschool... This Year : )

Just so R has her first day of school on the blog and she can't say I left her out just because she's the middle child here's how it went down... 

Second time making waffles in two weeks? 

Yes I could have pulled extra ones out of the freezer that I made for E's first day but I'm a glutton for extra work so fresh waffles it was - lovely clean counter, no? 

Giving the van a once over because we had church the night before.

Teacher made a list... we checked it twice. 

Ceremonial new shoes. I think I was more excited by the prospect of her not having to wear those BLASTED shoes with laces that had been driving me NUTS for the past several weeks... OCD? Quite possibly

Lunch/snacks packed #forthewin

But not for the win was the state of the kitchen when we left. Dishwasher was not unloaded. Mac and cheese lunch remnants was on the stove. Waffle iron had been overfilled (rookie mistake, I know) and was still overflowing. Syrup dotted the table. Breakfast dishes were left in their spots on the table. 

That is what taking 5 minutes away from my mornings - in the name of pictures of course - will do. I promise I am a scientist when it comes allowing time to get out the door. 

MOVING ON.... 

So excited to have the spotlight!

Cheesing it up!

Because the sibs were there too... 

Such a happy colorful 3 yr old! - (here's 2 yr old first day)

Enter the skeptic

She's carrying a flower she picked for me : ) 

She and her friend cried when the moms left - I was super super super surprised

Ever since she goes in like she owns the place. 

I never hear about too much other than they played... and played and played - and I think she says that to spite E : ) 

7QTs - Horses, Baseball and Soccer

Same old, same new... 

--- 1 ---

E was invited to a birthday party that was at a horse stable.... Aside from being super excited about the party there was much anticipation about...

WHY ARE THEY SO AFRAID OF TINY LITTLE DOGS???

Anyhow, riding horse was a hit and I will never understand the minds of my kids but I guess that goes with the parenting territory?

--- 2 ---

After such a great neighborhood gathering the night before we were supposed to have an end of summer pool party but the weather wasn't fantastic so we relocated to our house and just had a grandparental gathering : )

The girls and I made Rice Cream Pie... 

The crust materials

That's all the ice cream???

Deep in discussion over puzzle piece location 

The kids cannot get enough Berenstein Bears... Mama and Papa can so who better to read it than Jibbe

E and Grammy reading The Name Jar - it came up on Amazon when I bought a book for E's homework and she ended up really liking it

So good : ) 

--- 3 ---

E finished her second Kindergarten workbook - I think it was Brain Quest or something like that - and it was just over 300 pages. She's been working on it all summer and this is what she picked out for completing it: 

There was much thought put into this purchase. She ALMOST left it and was going to put the prize $$$ on a gift card so she could save up for a bigger set BUT you know how it is being 5.

She surprisingly did the bulk of it by herself. She still likes to skip a step or part of a step here and there and I'm wondering if that didn't happen this time. As you can see we had to 'engineer' the plane a bit taller in the middle (note the bottom of the nose and top of the tail have gaps) because the people did not fit in the cabin area. Well whatever... she has been playing with it and she was going to bring it for show-and-tell Friday but then we are getting off the exit for school and I hear "I forgot my show-and-tell"

A. Opps... forgot to check the calendar
B. Exactly right, you forgot it. Don't point the finger at me (though I do like to give a general reminder)
C. Can you find something in the van to bring? Haha... yes of course! Have you seen our van?

This was what the van looked like on Wednesday morning after we had church on Tuesday night and then we stopped for dinner and didn't waltz in the door until oh... say 9:50

--- 4 ---

Now if Saturday birthday party and neighborhood gathering and Sunday church and family cookout weren't enough... Monday was Labor Day and we (sans M who got to hang out with Jibbe) trekked out to a baseball game with some families from church. 

So stinkin' cute in the oversized hat

Waiting... Not so patiently for the gates to open

Big hat + big chair

Lee and I were quite impressed how much of the game they actually sat and watched

No baseball game would be complete without cotton candy (gag!)

Silly sisters

So terrified of the mascot : ) 

So we had a blast of a weekend which made getting in the groove for Tuesday's regularly scheduled school madness just that much more hard to get back to. 

--- 5 ---

See what I mean... 

R is very attentive to Olaf's nap time spot

You think it is hard being a snowman? Try being 3!

--- 6 ---

This is worthy of it's own post... 

R headed off to 3 yr old class... More pics on that later

--- 7 ---

And lastly... but not least-ly...

Soccer started this week. Practice was good until 2 of the 3 kids - that would be our kids - left the field in tears... Bets as to which one (ehem... the eldest). Also it was the first practice so it was a little crazier than usual. Fortunately Papa was there to corral in M for the bulk of practice but there are several other younger siblings on the team so she is in good company. 

Now how do you go about explaining being aggressive but not being mean about it to a 5 yr old? PLEASE... insight. E continues to be frustrated as she wants to score goals but so does every other kid out there - except for R who was messing with her shoes during our scrimmage : ) 

Kindergarten... It's For Real

I went to my doctor appointment last week - which is probably one of the more quiet and peace-filled time of my weeks - and had a conversation similar to this:

Dr - How's Kindergarten going?
Me - It's good. E likes it...
Dr - Yeah
Me - But you know... Kindergarten... It's For Real
Dr - You need to put that on a shirt

Now I think our family (it has been a family effort here) has transitioned to Kindergarten pretty well. I held it together the first week, E's only occasional complaint is that she 'wants to spend the afternoons with {me}', and R and M have been good sports about the time schedule bump. We found someone to bring E home in the afternoons - which is such a MASSIVE weight lifted off my mind - and after nearly two weeks the morning madness seems halfway normal.

I know this hasn't been the case for every Kindergarten family. There have been more tears, more meltdowns, earlier mornings, more pull back from siblings... so let's just say that I think if I had to go through the first few weeks again, I'd do it because it wasn't as scary/terrible/sad as I thought it would be

but, But, BUT... There is one thing that I wasn't expecting.

Kindergarten is exhausting. Not just for E but for me and I'd even guess the sibs too.

Blame it on being 8 months pregnant, you could.

Blame it on having 2 smaller children, okay.

Regardless the reason, the reality of Kindergarten is setting in and I think I'll being an afternoon coffee addict before it is all said and done. Why?

1. There's projects, and homework and sight words that need overseeing - a very reasonable amount I should add but still it is an added layer to afternoon activities that wasn't there before

She'll jump on any chance to go overboard with an art project

2. There's me sitting and wondering sometime in the early afternoon - I wonder what E is doing? Is she having a good time? and saying quick prayer she is happy and that she comes home from school safely. - I'm a worrier to the CORE

3. There's the realness of elementary school. I'm not walking/dragging people up and down the hallways, chatting with teachers and other parents. I am connected at Kindergarten but is a much different way. In preschool I felt like I knew what was happening everyday. Between the daily calendar of activities, to the 500 papers that came home everyday, to the conversations I had with teachers at drop off. Now, I still get the papers but I'm lucky if E tells me who she played with on the playground.... HELLO! Can you fill me in??? I haven't seen you all day and all I get is a "School was good" unless I play 20 Questions?

4. It just feels different. More formal. More real life. More this is how it is going to be. More distance. More independence. More responsibility.

And whether anyone likes it or not, Kindergarten is for real.

It is one of those transition steps into how things really are and as we learn, succeed, and stumble through it all, for now, I think we are right where we need to be.

M getting left out of the elementary school fun 

So bring on the AR books, and the projects, and the crafts, and show-and-tells, and the class parties, and the field trips - we will get through it all even with the siblings in preschool, a brand new family member, a couple extracurricular activities, and church obligations...

We will power though one way or the other

And I know that a strong cup of coffee is a K-cup away : )

The van will never be the same... 

7QTs - Swings, Warm Milk and Cobras

In which I buy 5 straw cups and only 4 straws... #notlying #wishiwerekidding

--- 1 ---

E and I never got around to painting her footprint for her birthday earlier this year. I decided to mix it up a little bit... 

And do hand prints instead of footprints...

She did glitter background and glitter hand paint and this surprises anyone? 

I'm thinking handprint for Kindergarten, 6th and 9th grade and nix the footprint... 

At some point I'm going to run out of space to keep yearly foot prints and honestly its the baby footprints that are the cutest, right? 

--- 2 ---

We spent some of last weekend in Raleigh and feasted on grilled goodness and this: 

German chocolate cake made by none other than Grammy : ) 

Yes I did blow all the candles out in one breathe... just for the record

I think the week was catching up with E... Good thing Uncle Kev was there : ) 

--- 3 ---

So we made the not-so-welcome move of this girl into the big girls room... 

We put her down about 20-30 minutes ahead of the other girls which I can't say is helping the noise factor once everyone's in there. E is super frustrated that M likes to stand up and talk. The one night Papa was gone it was much noisier in there so I think they know he means business.

Also, M has been getting up INSANELY early. First it was 6 then 5:30 and yesterday it was 5:15. When it's before six I go in there and tell her it's still nighttime and if she cries I'll put her back in the other room - and you know what, she doesn't cry. Don't think just because she's not 2 (or 3) that she doesn't understand stuff. She knows... she knows!

--- 4 ---

This is probably worthy of its own post but... 

R decided she was going to get this whole pumping thing down and ever since after church on Sunday she won't stay off the swing. She is so stinking proud of herself - and she should be. You see R is not overly motivated like her big sister so R really has to see the value in doing/learning something in order to give it much thought and EFFORT.

Well for whatever reason - was it the Friday playdate when the three older girls were having a blast swinging themselves - she got on the pumping train!

--- 5 ---

Yesterday was a bit of a rough patch for us... It started with this conversation I had with Lee in his office at 5:30 (in the AM)

Lee - Hi Chicky

Me - Hi

Lee - What's going on?

Me - Well... M's been up since 5:15 

Lee - Oh what's she doing now?

Me - Sitting in her crib and not crying

Lee - That's good

Me - And... there's no milk in the fridge? 

Lee - There's what?

Me - I thought you got milk last night

Lee - I did but... I could have... I remember putting on the shelf in the fridge

Me - It's not there

Lee - You're kidding... 

Warm milk anyone?

Proof I'm not the only one who is losing it? : ) 

After a 5:45 am milk run later everyone had some cool dairy goodness for breakfast. 

Aside from that, it was E's day to bring snack to school and I had it on the master calendar plus my phone plus I told E several times the night before to not let us forget her snack.

Well we didn't forget it. But getting everyone out the door was worse than normal, for some reason. Why is it when I tell people to get shoes on they sit by the shoes and hold their favorite animal????? EHEM! R.... COME ON GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm quite sure some morning I speak in tongues!

Me reminding/telling everyone to get shoes on is NOTHING NEW
ME YELLING BECAUSE I DON'T THINK YOU HEAR ME STRESSES ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE OUT SO PLEASE JUST GET YOUR SHOES ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The struggle is unnecessary. But the struggle is real. I promise.

Then there were the uniform compliant PE shoes for E that she said were 'tight' but they were a half size larger than she actual size so.... Hopefully they'll stretch????

Today, I firmly resolved to not raise my voice at departure time because I could tell a difference in E's demeanor when we got to school and I don't want my attitude/behavior to start her off on the wrong foot for the day

--- 6 ---

I have been scouring the Target aisles ever since school started to find these cups on sale. 

Why? Why? 

These cups hold ice nearly all day. 

They are nearly indestructible - M has dropped her cup on the floor so many times and I think it has damaged the floor and the cup is unscathed. 

They are dishwasher friendly

They are easy to assemble and disassemble - some straw cups are awful to try and re-thread the straw back - trust me... been there and cup is no longer in our house.

I thought they were leak-less cups because my OCD self cannot stand a leaky cup - and these are mostly leak free. For the ages they were made for probably 2.5ish and up because at 2.5 yrs old kids know it is not a good idea to turn the cup upsidedown and shake it. Well when you give a 9 month old this cup because its the only cup she wants then there will be leakage BUT the flow of the leaking liquid is pretty slow so you really have to not be watching (like we do) in order for there to be a HUGE mess - which has happened on more than several occasions.

Overall this is the cup of choice for our house but I won't pay $15 for them. I don't even like paying $10 on sale but there are some things in this world that make my life easier and these cups are one of them. Only having 4 in rotation can be tough when I leave them in the van over the weekend or forget one at church or you know, my life, stuff comes up. 

So I got 3 more for the girls. They've already divided them out because... sharing cups is not our forte. M claimed the Hello Kitty, E the princess and R the Doc McStuffins. Peace in my world. 

I got the Snoopy cups to make good on a promise I made to a family at church who saved one of our cups from a time when M left hers on the playground. And the other is for our godson who well... when you've number 6 of 7 I'll bet you don't have a cup to call your own so I'm plastering his name all over it before I send it off : ) 

--- 7 ---

I made another life simplification decision this week - aside from the cups. And really it was not the easiest of decisions...

So fall soccer is upon us. I have coached the last I don't know how many seasons. Bebe #4 is throwing (a welcomed) loop into the coaching of said teamS. Yes E and R play in different age groups - like they did last season - that was no cakewalk in May.

Speaking of walking with cakes let's envision this season. E's practice followed by R's game/practice coupled with Papa's Bible Study (which he swapped nights so he and E can try out AHG -more on that later) thus leaving M supervisor-less as Jibbe goes to BS AND AND AND let's not forget bebe #4 thrown in the mix come sometime in October. Sounds like a recipe for DISASTER when not coaching. When coaching or co-coaching or being somewhat involved in the practices and the games? Yeah, I'm crazy but not THAT crazy.

I knew fall soccer coaching involvement would be tricky - but I ACTUALLY LIKE IT so how to be involved but not overcommit?

That was pretty much decided for me in a way I wasn't thrilled about but I'm willing to give it a try.

The league we play in low key league (very parks and rec league, nothing like the kind of soccer my parents let me play in) but this season they went to dividing out the girls from the boys - which I wasn't crazy about and I'm not totally sold on yet.

I mean I get it. The fact that the girls drop out after about 7 or 8 is an issue and I can see how if you track girls to play with girls and keep playing with girls through middle school then they might stick with it longer. I get it. I've seen it. Even last year with the 4-5 teams the boys are much more aggressive and the girls tend to shy away - maybe because they can or maybe they are legit intimidated (I've seen one single exception - one CONSISTENTLY aggressive girl who pays no mind to the boys).

So my option was this.... Leave E as the only girl on her team and only girl in the boys league OR put her on a girls team. Some girls may have done really well but knowing E's personality, Lee and I agreed she'd probably get pushed further into the 'I don't need to do anything on the field because the boys are running around like crazy.'

Girls team it is for her. Then there was R. I knew practice/games without Papa would be MISERABLE. Coupled with the fact there wouldn't be any huge 5.5 yr old boys running and kicking the ball 100 miles an hour AND knowing R's participation level at the 4-5 practice in the spring was much better than at her own practice - we made an executive decision to put her on the 4-5 girls team with E. One practice a night. One game a weekend. Life simplified.

Now the judge/fairness-keeper in me is super irked by this because R should be afforded the opportunity to play with her age group - just like E was.

BUT, I'm going to take a nod from Kathryn and others about not getting burned out, overbooked and super-stressed about extracurricular activities and maintain as much as our collective family sanity as possible.

Here's to the Cobras this fall.

If there had been hot pink jerseys we would have been the pink Cobras but after SO MUCH STINKIN' debate we will be bronze. Because the color of the uniform and the team mascot are just as important as what's for snack after the games!

A Babymoon to Remember

Maybe we'll remember it because it's the first one we've taken and it took four babies for us to take one. Or maybe we'll remember it because we went from the coast of the state to the mountains of the state in less than 24 hours. I'm not sure but it was a quick but nice getaway nonetheless.

So we left off about here...

Day Trip to the Beach

We got home a bit of a sandy mess and then my mind was changing gears from beach to packing the girls up for Grammy's and Jibbe's. Divided the girls were conquered cared for : ) M was easy because she stayed with Jibbe so if I forgot anything all her stuff was a quick drive back to our house. E and R stayed with Grammy and Grandpa Joe and they had a big agenda of stuff they were doing so I think I went overboard on the packing and somehow they ended up with 4 pairs of shoes for 2 days but... whatever!

From the coast to this view. 

We listened to the Screwtape Letters on the drive up which was super interesting in general but considering the van is usually filled with laugher and screams and yelling and whining and singing being able to pause the book and talk about a chapter was novel. 

Yes I wear those sunglasses entirely too much : ) 

We walked down to the golf course - down about 250 steps that is and then trekked back up. Lee promised we could walk some of the course the next day which brings back memories of walking the golf course when we went to Jamaica on our honeymoon. 

Dinner with a mountain view.

After the welcome reception - did I mention this was actually a work trip that involved Lee coming and no kids coming so that still totally qualifies as a baby moon, right? - we had dinner on the terrace. The weather was great. The food was awesome. It took the waitress FOREVER to get our check but we were taking bets on the tab for a group of 10 or 12 was so we made it interesting. A guy proposed. It was an exciting dinner. 

Lunch the next day was AWESOME.

The next day I had a long morning session which gave Lee AMPLE amounts of time to read - which is his favorite thing to do with his free time these days. Then we grabbed lunch. I had to go meet a customer that afternoon so again he was in uninterrupted reading mode - which is probably the real reason he wanted to go on this trip : ) though he has had a pretty insane summer so it was a well-deserved break. 

We did take our walk on the golf course and watching the guys play and try and find their shots was really quite amusing. If we didn't have a huge impending hospital bill come October and we had more than a couple hundred dollars to burn it would have been nice to hit the spa BUT... we didn't which was probably for the best. 

Then we headed to dinner which was not nearly as great as the night before but that one would have been hard to beat. 

There was a silent auction and Lee couldn't resist adding to our whirlygig collection 

We were up early (but at our normal time) the next day to shoot to Grammy's pick up the E and R, 

Pick out shoes for school with our long hair

Then Papa headed back to the ranch to retrieve M since I had one last business item to wrap up. 

All in all we had a great time. We cannot thank Grammy and Grandpa Joe and Jibbe enough for making it logistically possible. I did hear M had lots of fun swinging on Sunday and she was probably treated to an extended spa experience each night at bath time. E and R got to go to Pullen Park which is a big time favorite for them. The butterfly house disappointed abit only because there were not many butterflies around but they have been talking about Wee Willy Winky ever since their visit