Love is your husband wanting to spend Father's day weekend with a zoo trip with the kids. Without mom. I got to stay home and that is gold, my friends. This summer has been SO HARD! I love having my kids home. I love that it's back to the four of us (while dad is at work) and I've got the kids all to myself. It's just that Aubrie could work for the CIA one day...in the interrogation department. I don't know if it is her age (7), a birth order thing, or what. But the girls drills me day and night!
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| Our fearless leader this Father's Day |
"What are we doing after breakfast? And after that? And after that? When can we do this? What time should we be there? Will we have snacks? What's for dinner? Who are you texting?"
I'll read with her sometimes at night and as her little eyes are half mast, she's deep breathing, and I back out of her room, I'll hear her whisper, "What are we doing next Saturday?"
Oh. My. Gosh.
Moms of toddlers, never thought I would say this, but enjoy that they don't know what day of the week it is, don't care what they are doing today, and the fact that they are gullible and you can convince them of everything.
Not my kids. The girls have desk calendars in their rooms and every month they flip the page and summon me upstairs with my planner and I have to write in everything that is going on that month. Doctors appointments, dance practice, soccer, birthdays, dinner dates...everything. And Kyle has even caught on. We were on our way to a birthday party and he says,
"Mom, what time does the party start?"
"Party starts at 10, Buddy."
"Mooooom?? What time is it?"
"9:57."
"How far are we from the partyyyyy???"
"5 miles. I promise I'll get you there as promptly as I can. I'm sorry we will be 2 minutes late."
So as you can see, that golden morning of time without my kids...a time I don't have to answer to anyone or explain what I'm doing, or plan the next hour...is love.
Thanks Super dad.
And I chose to spend my morning with my readers (mostly family) because I know some of you miss this. I do, too. I started blogging as a way to laugh at the horrible mundane way that life felt as I was a new stay at home mom that had nothing to do but watch sesame street, laundry, change diapers, and nurse babies. It made me look at my life differently and find the funny in it. And talk about food. I love food.
Now there is still a lot of funny, just in a different way. The kids aren't cute toddlers anymore doing new and exciting things. But they are still exciting and fun. And I want to try and blog a time or two just so I can remember these days. Lately, it's been very obvious to me that time is speeding up, not dragging on like the toddler days and it's really hard on me. I miss those babies. But now it's time to focus on who those babies are turning into.
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| Riding a tricycle at Granny & Gaga's house in Indiana |
So, as you heard, Aubrie is now 7. She's super smart. She likes schedules, planning, organizing, reading, playing piano, playing basketball, typing on her typewriter, all things art, and playing with her brother and sister. She has lost some teeth and the new ones are coming in.
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| Sweet sisters |
She has taken an interest in the kitchen. We are talking about entering a baked item into the state fair this year. She has been making peanut butter bars. She does it mostly herself. I just have to watch over her measurements and help put and pull things out of the oven. She does a great job of being my helper in every way. She can get Kyle to listen to her when I need an extra hand.
She had an awesome 1st grade year. Her teacher was a dream!
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| 1st day/last day |
Emilie is still wild Emilie. We just went to the eye doctor today because she poked her eye and scratched it with her sunglasses. She carries a purse or sunglasses with her everywhere she goes. She loves accessories. She also loves junky stuffed animals. The kind you get out of a claw machine or find in a ditch. Those are her favorites. Recently, I had the kids dump all their stuffed animals into a pile and they kept picking their favorites one by one until we got to the final dozen or so and we donated those to goodwill. She chose to get rid of a stuffed dog and sure enough, it's all she talks about. She goes on and on...I wonder where he is? I sure do miss him. Do you remember who gave me that dog?
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| Emilie is taking AR tests this summer and her first prize was a pedicure. |
Speaking of dogs, Petey has become HER dog. The kids no longer come into our room in the morning to wake us up, but we do hear Emilie. She will crawl over to Petey's bed and start baby talking him. She is so attached to him and I find her sitting by him and petting him all the time. It's so sweet and Petey loves the attention.
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| 1st day/last day of school |
Kyle is...3. And 3 is so hard. I would like to take this minute and not complain because we are so close to his birthday...but I can't. He is SO DIFFICULT!!! I remember the girls turning a corner a month before they turned 4. I'm sure I'm being dramatic but I'm not used to boys and with him being our last 3 year old...it's so haaaaarrrrd!
But he sure is cute. This past weekend he was sitting on his dad's lap and he said, "Dad, you're my buddy and mom is my She."
I am his She. (heart melting)
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| My baby (He's the one on the right) |
He's into cars and monster trucks. He also loves swords, basketball, and pretty much all things boy. He fights me when I put him in "crunchy pants" which is any fabric that isn't basketball shorts. He is VERY picky about what he wears so I leave dressing up to him. So if you run into us and his shorts are on backward, or he's dressed like a hobo, now you know. (Today I realized when we got home he was without underwear.)
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| I put this boy to work moving rocks |
And the poor kid's hair is never combed unless I make a special request or it's Sunday. It's so thick and unruly. Even if we comb it and put some gel in it, a little bit of sweat can put his hair back into a heap of bird's nest right on top of his head.
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| Sissy kisses. (we made him wear jeans and they came off as soon as we got home) |
Adam and I are doing good! We get away from the kids and spend time together as much as we can. God has been so good to us and has shown us his faithfulness through life's ups and downs. Raising kids is no joke. Certainly not for the faint of heart. When we used to go out on dates it was SO AMAZING to eat warm food and not be spooning food into someone else's mouth. I remember after Kyle was born, we went out to dinner, then got some Starbucks coffee and sat with our seats reclined in the parking lot and just rested. Quietly. Haha, we were so tired!! We now have the luxury of kids feeding themselves at home, so now we spend our times together just reflecting on how fast the days are speeding past us and trying to figure out how we are going to nurture and encourage our kids along in the latest activity/phase our kids are in. On our last date we went and got 2 crape myrtle trees that Adam had promised/gifted me almost 3 birthdays ago. I finally held him to it and we picked them out. I can't wait for them to grow big and strong.  |
| We celebrated 11 years this May |
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| My precious Crape Myrtle |
I hope you all are doing well. Love to all!
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