7QTs - Pools, Fossils, Quarters

Linking up with Kelly ... it has been awhile...

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Sometimes it takes a good old work trip to give me the time and the space to catch up in this little corner of the internet. I might get some cross stitching in on the plan ride and maybe M will have her stocking completed by Christmas!

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C is a mess. She is a screamer. She's got an opinion and an attitude about everything. Oh to be two again!

Waiting for someone to notice she has a quarter so she can get a popsicle and she shouts PINK because I think that's the only color she's got down pat. 

This picture is funny to me because this suit is a racing suit like the big girls wear but clearly Nike made a sizing error because it should be a tight squeeze for M but it is a tight squeeze for C. Future swimmer for sure!

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We did get in a swim meet the week before last...

E and R swam in a relay together which was neat!

It has been an interesting summer swim season with DQs and learning strokes so this fall should be a good one at the Y - not that I am rushing the summer away!

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Y'all I just can't...

A is so cute. He LOVES to mow and ADORES mowing with his Papa. He rode the whole time in the back but insisted he get off to mow himself in the front. I thought Lee gave him the boot because it was so so so very hot - but A had to run his mower through the clippings.

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Apparently M has a really loose tooth... 

Funny the pics I find on my phone. The swim meet last week was canceled for thunder but that left some time to play around while it was decided that it needed to be canceled. (and the tooth still hasn't come out) 

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This week I took M and A to the ENT...

M sounds like she breathes through a straw at night and A drools like a teething baby so I went in gunning for tonsil removal and we got the green light... on September 13. Nine days from numero 6's arrival. Soooo.... doing some serious rethinking of things as September isn't going to work and with only one ENT (joys of smaller-ish town doctors) I'm thinking end of year just to try and sneak it in on this year's deductible. We will see. Waiting for God to show us the right time in between all the fun stuff we do... this could be a big bummer. 

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A part of me fossilized a bit yesterday...  

Finally packing for camp after days of mom putting it off

After 3.5 hours in the car we finally got there. E didn't know anyone but we met a friend and her mom in the check in line - which was awesome because after she took her swim test we had to say - see you on Friday - and she waited for her friend which was a perfect distraction from my departure. 

I have a kid at sleepaway camp. #fossilmom

The BEACH 2019

We came, we played and we got out right before a thunderstorm... 

Here we go

A was pretty skeptical of the waves for a while and couldn't decide if he liked them or not

Obligatory nail painting and a prize for M for getting hung off the roof deck - painting Uncle Kev's toes

We had to go out for ice cream 

Ice cream, hot day

She got pink... of course

Number one off the beach bucket list

Thank goodness for these cone holders

We ventured to the pier

We went to the king fishers part of the pier and it was kind of creepy

Future fisherman

The sand consumer, castle destroyer and toy taker

A beached mermaid!

Tide pool fun

The roof deck... aka the attic according to A

The trek to the beach... moms of little boys looking for rash guards to serve as the bathing suit or to use under (A sometimes wanted a suit to over over the jammers) look no further than the Nike jammers - you can get them in size 20 and fit A well and he is 3.5. 

The puzzle. That was a big deal this year for a ton of reasons. I found the one I wanted then realized it had to come from Amazon England! and would be here a day after we left for the beach - so I ordered a similar one but actually Ravensburger is the way to go in the puzzle world. Then they both showed up so we went Ravensburger. Anyways, I tracked and traced daily. Then I told Uncle Kev about the puzzle and he said last year our puzzle was 1000 pieces and so I went back and check the ye ole blog to prove myself wrong because I thought it was a 2000 piece puzzle! So we were up a creek from the start but this year's puzzle was way more colorful than last year's. To add to the dramatics, the puzzle wouldn't fit on the card table by any stretch of one's imagination so quick thinking Kevin unhinged a utility door and it fit but barely on that. And we were off. (Soon to be Aunt) Nicole and I and Gramp Joe had some last puzzle nights. E actually helped this year which was fun. We all swore Uncle Kev was holding the last piece hostage and we stayed 5 minutes over our planned departure time (and left Grammy to clean up the dinner dishes - sorry Mom!) to FINISH THE PUZZLE! It was a crazy fun team effort. But next year, no 2000 piece puzzles...

The best life

Crabby Pic 2019

Speaking of crabs... of course the only kid brave enough to hold the dead crab is the kid who brought a dead cockroach for show and tell

If E could have done this the entire beach trip I'm quite sure she would have been pleased. She was a water bug and stayed out in the water as much as she was allowed. I was out past 2 wave breaks to get this pic but I'm so glad I did. 

The final dig. We headed up from the beach for lunch, showers and to pack up right before a big, loud thunderstorm rolled through. 

The ride back was pretty uneventful except for my free rider who required that I pull over on 40 and let him out because he was hopping all over the place

Home and not without free rider number 2 hopping up as we are getting off 95 but I couldn't bear to stop when we were THAT close. 

The puzzle and all it's completed glory... how much do you think it will cost to frame???!???!

Kibbe Sharks doo doo doo doo...

We had our first swim meet of the season last week... 

Kibbe swimmers 2019

M's BFF was getting her nails painted and I gave in and let them get their toenails painted even though we weren't at the beach. See I can be cool-mom sometimes

Birth order (plus one)... I found some super sale suits for the girls of our neighborhood (let's just say on sale and not super low cut or super showing your entire back and half of your side are... ehem.... challenging) Challenge accepted!

LOVE THEM!

Ready to swim. M swam fly, back and free and totally rocked and is only 5 which makes the month of swimming at the Y proof (to me) that it was worth it. 

Excellent dive form there M!

E swam fly, back and breast (I think) - she did well. She's freshly minted in the 9-10 group and swims against some great swimmers who can really push her to go faster

R swam back, breast and free and swam with great form... She still DQ'ed in breast stroke because they actually DQ you in summer league in 7-8. 

Pink goggles... always smiling : ) 

Until next time

The Odd Squad... Reloaded

Today in a few short hours, C will officially be 2 so technically I can still call them the Odd Squad plus this pic was taken last night so I'm good... An update to the previous and first Odd Squad edition

E9 - E is such a busy kid. She loves to stay busy and her mind is always thinking about what's coming next. This summer she's knee deep in several camps plus swim team. I joke that she'd make a perfect only child because then she'd get to do EVERYTHING - but fortunately for her God had a bigger, better plan. She's still learning about leading versus dictating over her siblings and the effectiveness of both. Fourth grade is coming up in the fall and I know that she'll be rocking Battle of the Books as well as quietly trying to conquer her fear of dogs. 

R7 - R is still very much the quietest one in our bunch - at least if all the siblings are around. I really loved and appreciate that I was able to take her on a Valentine's Day solo outing (and the others on their adventures). She really does have alot on her mind but usually can't put a word in edgewise. In some ways she is very shy but she can be extremely firm and stand her ground - like M copying her in EVERYTHING - which remains a point of extreme frustration. Second grade is coming up which means First Confession and cursive writing; E has scared her into thinking cursive is the most difficult thing in the world but I'm quite sure she will do fine - especially since she's got a lefty-partner in crime older sister who knows the ropes.  

M5 - M is the middle child but really she's not. She's the baby of the big girls and the leader of the little kids. She can happily play with either group and it is interesting to see her go between the two. M is much more competitive than I could have imagined. She loves to score goals in soccer and the thought of losing in swimming (to her BFF) can bring the tears - we are working on losing with grace : ). Trying new things and doing things differently do not come easily for this creature of habit. She is quite determined in more ways than one. I think if we could knock out reading book - all 70+ lessons she has left - she'd be thrilled. Kindergarten is coming quick and aside from being nervous about a new school and new friends, M will surely do well. 

A3 - If you haven't clicked the link you should, just so you can see As hair. To our only boy, where are the words? This boy keeps us on our toes. He can be very mechanical and he thinks about things much differently than the girls. He asks me frequently 'how is the baby coming out' - and I promise the girls maybe have asked once or twice ever over all the pregnancies. A insists that this baby is a boy and desperately wants to know why we aren't having twins? A can get very focused and emotional/passionate about some things - currently it is mowing the grass - and when things break - like a car track or Legos (hello C!) - this can be super tragic to A. He has recently taken to altar serving on Sundays (with Papa) - which is amazing (perks of being a deacon's son) and cute (he is falling out of his vestments) and a massive burden off my Sunday shoulders (because shockingly enough he CAN behave for Liturgy). This fall is going to be a game changer for A because he's going to be the oldest and he's going to be lost for a bit without M at home to play with but I think he and C will keep themselves busy. 

C1 - To the loudest member of the family. The babbler. The thrower (of all things food and toys). Two will suit you well little girl. C has really been talking up a storm and is super chatty and I'm picking out more and more things that she says - and some of what she repeats is quite amazing. Her current habits include throwing unwanted food off her tray (and suffering the consequences of losing eating privileges upon launched food) and throwing toys and the like when she isn't getting her way. If I ever thought one of our kids should play baseball - C takes the cake. C loves all her siblings and if she's thinking about it gives everyone a big HEEELLLLLOOOOOO in the morning accompanied by a hug. Her current worst habit is sticking her hand in dirty diapers and aside from keeping her in a pajama onesie all the time - we are hoping this habit will get kicked soon. C starts preschool in the fall as well as be dethroned from the family baby status so her world might get rocked for a few weeks in September BUT I have no doubt she won't get lost in our crowd. 

Spring Soccer Shenanigans

Soccer wrapped up for everyone 2-3ish weeks ago (along with just about everything else) here's how it shook for us:

Pretty standard Saturday for us 3+ hours at the field. Four players, three teams, two big sisters coaching, one ornery, snack-consuming little sister and one coach-mama who is crazy, blessed and having just as much fun as the kids she's coaching. 

A - he definitely had his moments of greatness and moments of being 3. The county mixed the 3-4 boys this year so he was the youngest as they come. Sitting and laying around the field during the game were not encouraged but did happen on more than one occasion. It was pretty easy (and funny) to spot the 3s at the last game because they were all sitting out while the 4s were still out there playing. A did somehow manage to score a goal this season and I don't think he really realized it was happening while he was doing it. Looking forward to next season - he wants his team to be named the chickens.

M - I think I had coached about 75% of the girls on M's team at one point in time so we had a pretty firm basis to go on. The county threw everyone for a loop and moved us up to the big field which I wasn't thrilled about but it turned out to be okay. Games were good but trying to coach girls to play on that size field at practice was difficult. M refused to play goalie - which was fine we had plenty of volunteer/victims : ) M scored a handful of goals and was one of the younger players out there - with her BFF of course. Defense is something we'll work on for next season and not going too far forward - but when you are 5 and the ball is way on the other side of the field it is hard to not follow it.

R - For having not played soccer in 5 seasons, I'd say it was a good season for R. Soccer doesn't really fit her personality but I'm so glad we did not do softball - I don't think I'm softball mom material. R played forward for the season and if we could just focus her into the ball when it was close to her she'd be pretty good I think.

E - She was definitely one of the oldest in her age group. She begged to play up so she and R would not be on the same team BUT I'm glad that didn't happen. E played mostly forward and a bit of mid. She shook off a bit of her timidness and I actually told her to stop pushing people in the second to last game they played. If we could get a locked ankle that would make a world of a difference.

Coach MOI - Even though I know I could easily not coach, I really do enjoy it. I mean sometimes the kids will drive to absolutely nuts at practice but what I 'get out of it' - the teaching and the fun and the moments of - of my goodness they really get it - make the time put in totally worth it. I will say coaching a group of boys is challenging compared to girls. Boys are really busy and girls just love to chat. Having M's team on the big field is the first time I've actually written out subs and who is playing where - which in the end was a huge help because juggling subs and equal playing time is not my forte. With E&R's team, I am ever so glad I did not coach them. I was the assistant but they definitely benefitted from being responsible to someone else - which I knew it would be. They couldn't have asked for a better coach.

Overall - A's team lost a game and won the rest - they were a motivated groups of little guys to watch. M's team remained undefeated for the second season in a row. M scored the winning goal in our closest game thanks to our faithful assistant who reminded me and everyone on the team we HAD to score and we only had 4 minutes to do so. E&R's team didn't lose a game in the regular season and tied the eventual tournament champions during the regular season. Their team was probably a lower barrel team to start with but their coach really brought them together as a team and pushed them to be runners up in the tournament.