Parties, Pinterest, Promises of Wine, & Paragraphs

Whew!  That's a lot to tackle, but here goes:

Today Claire had not one, but TWO birthday parties...her morning started off rough...she was a wee bit sluggish and quiet...she even considered staying home--but like a true trooper she hit them both and reconnected with all her school chums...it's sad, but my five year old has a more active social life than I do...

HOWEVER, today, Sabrina was coming for a visit (which may have brought on Claire's moodiness about going away from home...big sister, Brina is not often around...We had big plans, BIG plans, HUGE...we were going to craft and create...we spent the morning sharing Pinterest ideas back and forth before she even headed over...

We were also going to drink wine...two bottles to be exact.  I was ready--wine glasses were brought down from the top shelf--dust chiseled off of them..."What are those?" Payton asked...haha...yes, wine drinking, or ANY drinking seems to have faded away in my grown-up world.  But not tonight...

Needless to say...nearly midnight...and I have to confess...none of it happened.  No crafting, no creating.  And certainly no wine drinking.  What did we do?  Well...we LOOKED at Pinterest...does that count?  We snacked and ate...we watched...let's see...Herculeus, Up, Despicable Me, Matilda, an old school Mickey Mouse show...and some random hockey (that I tried my hardest to ignore)...we sat on the deck, and most of all...we talked.  Good times regardless...

Oh, and what else did I do?  I worked on a paragraph writing printable booklet....was not planning to--it just popped into my head and I ran with it:

There are four different topics: object, animal, food, and place.  Each one has the following pages to complete:

This one is to fill in about a specific object.  This is the prewriting...

Then the ideas on the sensory sheet need to get turned into sentences in a paragraph.  Because students usually have trouble beginning and ending, I gave them a little guidance...

And finally, there is an illustrating page:

Because I ended up making four topics, I was thinking about having my students do one a quarter--then I would keep them to compare student growth.  I will probably start out with the animal sheet, because students are usually not blocked when writing about an animal.  I think that I will save "place" for last, as it could get more in depth than some of the others.

So during the over-does of tv-viewing...I was really, being productive...Now the rest of my family...not so much...  :)

We are Family...

Sister Sledge aside...Do you ever look at your children and think that the insane amount of love you have for them is probably not healthy?  I think that often.  I had one of those mornings where my house got very...quiet.  Eeriely quiet...suspiciously quiet.  I started poking about from room to room...calling out their names.  No takers.  I went to the door and looked out.  There was Claire, heading across the lawn...green jammie pants getting soaked with dew, carrying a Little Tykes chair with her.  On a mission.  The destination:  The old chicken coop.  Pretty soon the other two  poked their heads out--apparently they had decided this morning that the old chicken coop was an excellent "clubhouse" for them...until Payton spotted a ball of fuzz she decided MUST be a mouse bed...and back in they came.  I LOVE that my children are buds.  That was the entire reason I suffered  went through three back-to-back pregnancies...because I wanted them to have playmates...instant and unwavering friends.  Granted, I know this can also cause a share of squabbles and chaos, but I wouldn't want it any other way.  Something as simple as watching that little girl head determinedly across the lawn, to the expectant faces of her brother and sister completely validates my life path...I AM a mother...(rawr)...

Zombie Mode

So--the time has come--I am "officially" on summer vacation!  I should be dancing about the room...loud music blaring, perhaps?  Splurging in a celebratory drink, you might think?  Well, sorry to disappoint, but it is none of the above.  I am, in fact, laying on my bed, in a half-comatose state...listening to my children right outside my bedroom window, partaking in all kinds of summer mischief.  The problem with my children is that they have now entered the stage where they are very aware of Mommy's "zombie mode" and they try to capitalize on it however they can.  The door will creak open to a plethora of requests they think I'll okay in my groggy stupor..."Can we have a Popsicle?"  "Can we set up the sprinkler?"  "Can we get out the slip and slide?"  Unfortunately for them, I am too aware of their plot to let too much pass me by...that being said, they have now in their desperation moved on to the water faucet under my bedroom window.  I'm not sure exactly what is happening, but I am pretty sure it involves a bucket of ice-cold tap water, and a little game of chicken.  Whatever...they are wet and happy and safe...and that, my friends, is enough!  Bring on SUMMER!  Woo-hoo!

The kids (in a fuzzy pic) AFTER the water faucet fiasco! 

The Quiet Critter Conspiracy

     So...I was browsing the Target dollar bins and I came across a few packs of pom pom critters.  Remember those?  They have a pom pom body, glued to feet of foam or felt, googly eyes, and some little antennas?  Teachers on Pinterest have been calling them "Quiet Critters"...being that they tell their students that they are tiny creatures that are very shy and only come out when it is SUPER quiet in the room...then when a student is quietly working you set one on their desk...you get the point.  Well, I took a pack home, in case I wanted to try it out, and when we got home, I took a few out, and explained to my children...apparently a with a little TOO much gusto all about the "quiet critters".  Of course they each wanted to hold one, and I let them, thinking, of course, that they totally got that they were just a fuzz with glued on eyes...boy was I wrong!  Before I realized it, my three each on their own had spread themselves out to the most remote corners of the yard to sit in silent wonder, waiting for their critter to magically come alive.  Neil and I were flabbergasted.  Carter was standing by the garage, ear to ear grin gently holding his little critter...looking at me every few seconds expectantly...Payton climbed to the top of the play set--discouraging Claire to come near--warning her she needed it QUIET.  In Payton-like fashion she sat there with a too grown-up expression on her face...willing her critter to come alive...and Claire, stood in the middle, giddy with delight, gesturing wildly with her finger to her lips that all should be quiet. 

     I felt...horrid.  Really.  I had somehow unintentional tricked my own children.  I hadn't meant for them to take it so seriously.  I thought they would laugh and pretend along with me.  Neil and I kept looking back and forth between them...whispering..."Oh my gosh...what are they thinking is going to happen?!  I had no idea they'd really think they were magic!"  I didn't know whether to let the illusion continue...or tell them they truth...it was like being caught off guard faced with Santa or the Easter Bunny.  Finally I went with the distraction technique...and quickly pointed out the kittens down by the silo...they ever so gently placed them back in the package...shrieking when one of them fell to the ground in front of the dogs...no worries...we saved the little critter and put in back in its bag! 

     To appease my guilty spirit, I promised them that we will spend a day making a bin of our own quiet critters...I got out a bag of pom poms for them to admire, and we thought of different ways to make them unique.  However, I still think they wholeheartedly believe the tiny beings will spring to life once made...it will be interesting to see how my third grade class takes to them...of course, remembering their enthusiasm for Leprechaun catching last March...I don't think I'll have anything to worry about...and the Quiet Critter Conspiracy shall continue...

This pic is taken from (this) blog:  http://projectsandpolkadots.blogspot.com/

Simpletons and Solar Lights

Okay, so...let me just say that we are dorks...and by we, I mean ME.  Well, let me just toss in Neil and the kids into that "we" as well.   There.  I said it.  WE are dorks.  We know it, we own it.  Take tonight, for example...as you all know, Neil and I rebuilt the front deck.  Of course that meant new landscaping had to figure into the mix...and as part of that, we bought some new solar lights for around the deck.  This in and of itself should not be a big deal...we have had solar lights before (until Neil kicked them apart one too many times and hauled them to the dump in typical throw-everything away Neil-style).  However, did that stop us from experiencing the rushy-excitement of watching the new lights "click" on for the first time?  Of course not.  There we are, Neil, Payton, Carter, Claire, and I...gathered out in the driveway at dusk, screeching with giddy delight each time a new light popped on.  It was like the redneck version of a pyrotechnic display.  Even as it was happening, I openly acknowledged to Neil, that we, undoubtedly, were a strange family...but than another light would click on and the kids would be cheering and clapping and running to see it, and I'm not going to lie...pure joy, my friends!

You see, this is why Neil and I are the perfect homebodies...we are so easily entertained by the elements around us that we have no need to stray far from home.  I was just explaining to one of my friends at work today why I would never want to be a "weekend camper groupie" (as she is).  And she said, "Yes, but if you are at home what do you actually do?"  Well, Jody, there it is...now you know.

The Easter Bunny Lane...

I was feeling nostalgic...wanted to take a walk down the Easter Bunny's Lane...here's a peek at the last seven years of Easter's with my kids.

The One and Only...1st Easter with Payton--I would kill for that glowing complexion!

Every little girl needs an Easter Bonnet!  Year Two adds....

A Little Brother!  Carter's 1st Easter

Back in the Bonnet!

We were so rushed we left for Church with your hair still dripping wet!

Year Four brings a sister!  Claire's first Easter!

Not quite an Easter Bonnet--but adorable none the less!

Getting bigger...

Okay, so I know this is a HORRIBLE shot...but my memory card was corrupted, and this is the ONLY pic I have to remember this year by...SO sad. 

This brings us to the present...three pretty big kids!



Say Cheese!

I know...I KNOW!  The thing is, I, myself, am irate whenever my faithful bloggers don't update...I feel neglected, out of the loop.  Once again...I have an excuse...lame as it may be:  My laptop was not in working mode.  My cord literally frayed through, and my battery was dead.  I had to wait for a new cord to be delivered before I could boot up again!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it...Okay, well.  Can I just stick up a bunch of pictures and call this entry done?  Please?  Okay, thanks, here goes:



How can you not just fall in love with these two?  This also happened to be after one of Claire's ER inducing asthma attacks a few months ago...which makes a peaceful sleep even more of a blessed occurrence!

Later on...all tucked into the downstairs bed--so we could keep our eye on her.

Here is Little Man fast asleep in Mom and Dad's bed--he disappeared, and this is where we found him!

Payton--the night she lost her last tooth--she is getting SO grown up!

The day before Easter--dying Easter eggs...each year the kids are another year older...and the dying process is that much easier!  No spills this year!

When it comes to dying eggs, we don't mess around--I think we had...17 different colors of dye!

Neil's ONE egg that he did--"Jesus is Risen"...I, on the other hand...did an Easter Bunny...

All That and a Bag of Chips...

     Okay, so I know I am really, really bad at this blogging thing...I want to be a good, faithful writer...but truthfully...first off–I bought a Kindle Fire and have sort of...abandoned my laptop. Not that I couldn’t blog on my Kindle Fire–I can, and I have...it just takes me a really long time. And secondly...I just can’t seem to focus on any one topic long enough to fill an entire entry...so today, out of guilt, I will sit here faithfully and type away...however I make no promises whatsoever of staying on topic...none. Remember that.
     This weekend was a whirlwind of various happenings...first off...Friday night we took the kids to see The Lorax. Which now brings their movie theater total up to a grand total of THREE visits. I know, we really outdo ourselves around here...we call it: Being Cheap. So off we went to spoil our children with a real movie theater experience. I liked it...I didn’t LOVE it...but that could be due in part to the fact that I had overtired, and ill-behaved Claire on my lap nearly the entire time...whispering LOUDLY things like, "When is it OVER? I want to see the movie I saw on your computer...I don’t like these glasses...they are HURTING my ears...Is it over NOW?" So...I have to admit a sense of relief flooded over me when the credits finally rolled. So much for spoiling our children. I walked out feeling like I had just put my child through torture...a very expensive 3D butter-coated, caffeine-splurging type of torture. Then, as a final kicker to the evening we had to make a quick stop at Walmart on the way home to make an emergency microwave purchase...as Neil had witnessed ours shooting out flames earlier in the day...and since I have a really serious bacon addiction right now–and pan cooked bacon is gross–we HAD to buy a new one. And seriously, what is it with Neil and fire-inducing appliances lately?
     Roll Saturday. Payton had her first EVER friend birthday party invite. Big stuff here. So, off we went...the entire family to send her off in style. I panicked slightly when giving her wardrobe free-reign...as she ended up with a Packer jersey and leggings...seriously? First grade? First party? This has sparkles and floofy skirts written ALL over it! Doesn’t she realize these will be the party photos that will resurface in 11 years as yearbook and slideshow flashbacks? However, I gave her the choice, and I wasn’t going to interfere...so off she went. Party was a huge success...(three of the six girls in skirts...future Prom court right there...). She happily chattered away the entire way to Grandma’s house when it was over. Claire and Carter were green with envy...and I was left yearning for Payton’s next birthday when I can put together an equally kid-wowing soiree.
     Unto Sunday. Well...went to Mass and Grocery shopping (put away groceries and realized we have 20 boxes of cereal in our pantry. 20. None are old. None are stale. We stock-pile cereal the way Mom and Dad did toilet paper.) Ate bacon...felt exhausted, ate more bacon. Took Excedrin to counteract exhaustion. Wished the house didn’t smell of bacon. Made cereal bars after feeling extreme disgust at having 20 boxes of cereal...Managed to use up two...down to 18. And now...Excedrin has kicked in enough that I could blog, and will now go whip up a casserole for supper...and maybe some laundry...and closet cleaning...although the kid's just put in Camp Rock...and I may get sucked in.
     And that my friends is a really long, really boring entry. You asked for it. I warned you. I did. So there. (Cue really childish tongue-sticking out and finger wiggling).

The Hills Are Alive...With The Sound of Music!

     I'm teaching myself to play the piano.  I feel silly in saying that, but I guess that would be the truth of the matter.  It started out with Payton taking lessons.  And since she is only in first grade...and I have a hard time turning off my "teacher" mode--I started helping her practice.  However, it soon became evident that my love of practicing far surpassed hers...(Hopefully her piano teacher isn't reading this!) 
     Maybe I should back up and explain my bitter childhood piano memories...When I was growing up, I desperately wanted to take piano lessons, but...my sister, Beth, was already taking them. Apparently, there could only be one piano player in the family, and she had already cashed in that ticket!  The frustrating thing was that my sister was painfully shy...so whenever Dad made her play for company, she was miserable.  I, on the other hand, would have been more the "look at ME...look at ME" kind of gal.  Instead, I had to settle for being her side-kick page turner...not the glorious position I so desired!    
     Now...fast forward twenty-five years and here I sit...diligently at my piano...torturing my own family with painfully slow renditions of...really silly beginner piano book ditties...My six year old yelled at me this morning, "Have mercy on my EARS!"  And I wanted to point out to him that he should just be thankful that piano playing is the childhood dream I have decided to chase, rather than some of my more ambitious musical dreams of the past...like becoming a singing Austrian nun!

Bunk Beds and Tooth Fairies Don't Mix...

     Payton lost yet another tooth tonight. It started bleeding when she was brushing her teeth before bed, gushing actually, and then she ran upstairs, and a few seconds later she and the kids were hooting and a hollering that it had fallen out. Bedtime erupted into chaos as she was trying to rinse out her mouth amongst the fever pitch of the rest of the household. As excited as I was for her, it makes me a little sad to see her smile change once again...I had just gotten used to the way it was...and those bloody tooth happenings really ick me out. Carter was in a panic already at suppertime as Payton was flaunting her oober loose tooth because she had lost like, eight teeth last year in Kindergarten, and he was half-way through Kindergarten...and not even the slightest wiggle was happening in his mouth! I assured him that Payton was ahead of the curve, and he was actually right on track with his mouthful of baby teeth. Remember back when these were our issues? When the biggest stressor/excitement was whether or not we would render a visit from the tooth fairy? I want to BE them...but I am not...I am forced to live in a stress-inducing big people world, with real issues....like...cursing my own stupidity for placing a tooth-losing child on the top bunk and making life just a little bit more difficult!

Unbreakable...oh wait, never mind...

     Yesterday...we went roller skating as part of our Catholic School’s Week celebration. Now, this particular field trip used to be greatly anticipated by me...back when I was younger...hipper...more invincible...now it is starting to feel more like a form of cruel punishment.. I was skating around the floor, thinking to myself, seriously, how is this fun? Why would any grown person do this? Oh, yes, please, let’s strap four tiny wheels to the bottom of my feet and force myself out on a glossy surface...Where every second my senses are working overtime, trying to anticipate any possible diversion that will cause me to tumble unsuspecting to that hard floor. So I’m watching...wobbly children–steer clear of them, they can and will take you down with them...the show-off weavers–avoid them at all costs, they will cut you off and force you into an unwanted path...the dangers are endless. And these kids just fall over and over like they are made of rubber, but I’m pretty sure I’m not as bendy! My four year old, Claire, was fearless! She whipped on those skates, and she wanted NO help. She would just head out into that chaotic fearful skate zone...clomping along in a walk she’s perfected in my high heels. My first grader, Payton held her own, too. Not exactly skating...more of a shuffle, but definitely on her feet! Now, don’t get me wrong, I actually do know how to skate, but it has just lost the fun factor...I guess I’m slowly morphing into a older, crabbier, no fun version of myself...or perhaps, just one who has lived long enough to experience pain, injury, and humiliation...and would really like to avoid all of them if at all possible!

The look on her face is not apprehension, but annoyance over a forced photo op!

Payton looking just as excited!

This was the only time the girls let me hold their hands--just for a picture!