Back to School for Everyone BUT Mom!

So, today was THE day....a day I have dreamed of....and dreaded for many years...but mostly dreamed of!

ALL THREE KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL !

All 3 were a little apprehensive, Alyssa more so than the others. Alec still gave Mom and Dad a hug and kiss outside the school (almost in the bushes!), Alyssa readily gave out hugs and kisses, but we werent allowed to walk her into her classroom! Jenna, Shawn and I both walked into class. Jenna sat with Mrs. Greisz, the teacher assistant, and unpacked her backpack. Then Mrs. Haulsee helped her put her things away in her cubby. Then we quietly slipped away.

In the school courtyard, I stopped and talked to several K parents. Most were holding it together very well, except for two of them....one was in tears the other was whooping and hollering about her freedom (no, it was NOT me!) I will admit I got a little misty eyed after seeing the teary mom, but it was VERY short lived....I decided to join the celebratory crowd and offered bon bons and the soap network at my house at 815a.

So, from 8-3 I didnt know quite what to do....the house was SO quiet....its a mess, too. But I didnt want to spend my first day completing ALL the things on my TO DO list (yea, right, its been growing for FIVE years now). I did go for a run, took a long shower and then had a pedicure and went to the dreaded Walmart for a few essentials.

Came home with intentions for a nice afternoon nap, but made banana bread for Alec instead.

315pm sharp, bus 121 arrived.  It deposited 3 happy, but hungry kids into my driveway. All three had a great day and are anxious to go back tomorrow!!! If only it can stay this way....

It's ALREADY July 4th!

Gee, where does the time go?!

The July 4th holiday was great. We watched the little parade here in the village and attended the ice cream social at the park across the lake. Shawn and I got a good laugh when the girls pointed out THEIR dock from across the lake and in reply, someone said "oh is that your grandparents dock?!" Like a young family couldn't possibly REALLY live there! ha! Later we rode with neighbor, Mr Marcum on his pontoon boat around Thaggard's lake. In the evening, we attended a cookout at the Blatz's house with the Iveys and Pussers. Great food, drink and fireworks!

And what did I learn today? Target makes "mommy juice boxes"...yes, wine in a small box, individual serving...fits nicely in the cup holders in your car!

July 5th we basically hung out at home and dodged severe rain showers. The kids did have a bike race and got to swim in the lake. Shawn got the boat running smoothly enough to tow each kid around the lake. Alyssa kept yelling for us to slow down, but her facial expressions and body language did not really reflect what she was saying!

I'M BORED!!!

Yep, it's only what, the third week of summer? And my kids had the nerve to say the words "I'm bored"....you know, with that whiney tone..."MMOOOOMMMAAA, I'M BBOORRREED".

So, I told them I had something we could do and they all came running into the living room. I said, "We are all going to clean!!!"...more moaning. But, we did it. I made them run around putting things away in the living room, dining room and kitchen. Then we went to the laundry room. Each had a basket and they had to go put them all away (inspection to follow!!). Then we all took turns vacuuming and mopping. Who knew my kids were such experts at moving chairs in and out, so the other person can clean underneath the table!!

Needless to say, they are happily playing Mr. Potato head now and i haven't heard a PEEP from any of them.

TO BE CONTINUED..."momma I'm bored"....."okay kids, let's go scrub toilets!"

Jenna's First Trophy

Well, soccer season is now over. So now its time for end of year soccer parties. Jenna's team party was last night. She was thrilled to get a trophy, a medal and a soccer bracelet. She thinks she received her trophy because she scored the last goal of the season, which also happened to be her first goal of the season. Of course I didn't have a camera with me, but I got a big hug in the middle of the game! All last weekend we had to hear a replay of the goal about every 10 minutes. Thank goodness she DIDN'T score goals every week, huh?! I will go attempt to post a pic of her and her trophy here.

Is there such a thing as SISTERLY love?

I know the bible speaks of brotherly love, but does it ever mention sisterly love? I am guessing it does NOT. Why? Because I am not sure there is any between sisters....

Yesterday, Jenna was plundering through the garage as I planted some plants and put in some mulch. She came across our "pool bag" from last year and had a blast re discovering all the stuff that had been left in it. Among those things was a stuffed pink bird about 6 inches long. She slathered it in baby sunblock and wrapped it in a towel. She played with it the rest of the day, even carrying it to soccer in a toy dog kennel. Of course Alyssa had a fit when she saw what Jenna had found, after all, it IS her duckie.

Fast forward to this morning, Jenna and I are puttering around the house and we cant find the duck. I assumed it had been left in the car. But Jenna insisted Alyssa took it to school with her. She even wants to go up to the school and go to her classroom and get it. I assured her Alyssa didn't take it to school. After all, I packed her back pack this morning as we were running late.

Well, what did I find when I went through Alyssa's book bag this afternoon? Yep, the pink duckie. She had indeed taken it to school just so her sister couldn't have it! BRAT!

Is it spring break or spring torture?

It's 728am. Something is wrong. What is that sound in my house? AHHHHH! It is silence!!! Yes, the big kids are back to school today and Jenna is still snuggled in bed....How long can it last?

The past 10 days all 3 kids have been on "spring break". I am not sure where that term came from. It certainly is no "break" for the parent who is expected to fill the void of 8 hours of school, great teachers and 20 something classmates.

The very first day of the "break" the fighting started, with arguments like who was the first one up or who was the last one asleep that night. I knew it would be a LLLOONNGG 10 days. Less than 24 hours ago, the girls were arguing over who had the most snot in their nose and the worst allergies. PUH LEAASSE!

We filled our days with gardening and playing out side. Going out in the kayaks and having a few sleep overs. We did make it over to the zoo and to see the movie Nim's Island. The girls had soccer games and practices. So all in all, not a bad "break".

My biggest concern though, is that this is just a taste of what "summer torture" is going to be like. Someone tell me where i go to sign up for year round school, again?

Science experiments and house keepers dont mix

Well, the title says it all.....

Me and my infinite wisdom hired a housekeeper to "help me out" since Shawn is gone so much these days (really, its because I hate to clean)...

Alyssa, my little animal lover, brought home a clear plastic cup with 2 meal worms from school last Thursday. These were given to all her classmates as well, as a science experiment over spring break ( AKA spring torture for the parents). For those of you who don't know, these worms go from pupae to larva to beetle in like 40 days. Fun for the kids to observe over the week, huh?

Fast forward to tonight, we are all getting ready for bed. I hear Alyssa in hysterics coming up the stairs....I really thought the hamster had become Tiger's (the 15lb rather large orange cat) dinner. Nope. Alyssa is holding her clear plastic cup with only a potato wedge in the bottom. All the oatmeal, all the worms. GONE!!!!!

What have I done? Here I am thinking the cleaning service will simplify my life....not working out so well. Yes, we did go look through the trash, but my ladies took the trash with them today.....

Luckily this is the day and age of computers. A quick online search tells me Petsmart carries them (for persons wishing to feed their non traditional type pets). A quick phone tells me our store has them.

Guess where we will be tomorrow??! Spending Daddy's money on worms......

April 6, 2008

Okay Rebecca and Julie, I finally did it, I set up a blog...just for you! Hopefully I can get my family to use it, too! I will try to figure out how to do more with this later today....its our first day of no rain in 3 days...everything is still soggy, but we still need to get out and do something...