Take me out to the Ballgame..

Back in July, some friends invited us to go up to Williamsport to see a minor league baseball game. The kids were very excited about it, as was I since it marked the end of a long weekend for us. (I forgot back then to post these pictures and they've been on my desktop for months. Now, I will share them, and remove them from blocking my view of the screen). 

Andrew was able to come and by the time all the snacks and water were gone, the game had about ended and taking 6 kids under age 5 to a game like that was an adventure in itself. It was hot and humid the night of the game, but we ended it at a very yummy ice cream shop.

Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.  

~Don Kardong

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?  I think not!  

~Author Unknown

The Blur

This past week has been nothing short of a blur. My calendar had something going every day and Andrew was very busy with call and working on a presentation he had today. Glad that's over. He's working again this weekend and next weekend will be the only one he has off for the rest of September. My life isn't getting any slower, you can say that much. October will be welcomed with weekends off and family coming, along with birthdays galore! I know I said before I wanted to post fun things on Fridays and that has slipped by the past few, but I will share a few of the favorite/fun things I have for today. I've started a small craft project for the Fall that I will hopefully finish and share, but for now, since it is officially September I took the liberty to start my Fall decor inside at least. Thanks to Michael's craft store, I am ready for the leaves to change and the pumpkin patch to re-open. 

The above pictures are my new table and island decorations. I found the stems on sale and the little pumpkins and gourds I couldn't pass up. I got an oversized canning jar and filled it. The little bird was on clearance and the green jar is from our local thrift store. I love earth tones.

Got this today at a yard sale for $1. It goes perfect on top of the stove. 

An antique washboard.
My parents have one of these and they are so neat looking. Yard sale $10.
It's going on the wall somewhere, sometime. 

The kids LOVE when Andrew makes Domino trains for them to knock over and watch fall. I video recorded this one, it wrapped the table and back again. Peter is so excited about his turn.

This little missing tooth girl is having so much fun at school. At night she asks me to set out her school clothes and today this is what she wore. I bought it on clearance in Redlands, CA. It's TEA brand. I really like their style, every season they feature clothes with inspiration from countries around the world. It's a tad pricey, but worth finding on sale for sure.

And this little man...well words do not express how much fun he is right now. Talking, jumping, laughing, playing with his siblings, oh the joy. He says in the car today, "Mama, I burped!" I say, "Well what do you say?" He tells me, "Kuse me!" The other night I hit my toe so hard on one of their toys. From his crib he heard me yell OWWW!! I heard him up there yelling, "You OTAY Mama? Toes Mama?" (He knows I hit my toes a lot) He's thoughtful and polite right now and every night when I tuck him in I can't help but smile.

Too Fast

I know it seems cliche' to ask, "Where does the time go?" But seriously. I have had to ask myself that this past week over and over. Not only did she just start preschool but today, Ella's first tooth fell out. Or maybe it fell IN. We can't find it. She had apple slices this morning and the thought actually ran through my head, Her tooth is loose, I should check it, then as usual some thing or some little one distracted me. The next thing I knew, she was talking to me and I noticed a hole on the bottom of her mouth. I said, "Ella, please open your mouth so I can see something." I looked in, and sure enough. GONE. G-O-N-E. I had a surprised look I'm sure because she asked, "Did I lose it?" I told her yes, then asked her where it might have gone. With wide eyes she said, "I don't know Mom." I told her it's okay, maybe we can find it by the table. Nope. Floor? Nope. Sink? Nope. Shirt? Nope. We are fairly certain she swallowed it. I'm not even concerned about that part, but how do you give a kid money from the "Tooth Fairy" when there is no tooth? I guess Andrew and I will have to discuss this after work. It's not like "No shirt, no shoes, no service," but with nothing to show for the gaping hole in her chompers how do you explain the tooth fairy taking it and trading for coins? She sure looks cute. This past week has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. Some of my very early memories were of going to school and losing teeth. I hope she can look back on this time fondly. I miss my baby girl, but it is fun to have conversations with her about the fact that she learned of school buses yesterday. I said to her, "How did this happen? You were just born!" She looked up and said, "No Mom. I'm almost five." She didn't get it. But I did.

The weekend summary...

As if I couldn't make the fact that my kids are growing too fast any harder, on Friday while Ella was at school we got Peter his booster seat for the car. He's been wanting one for a while because he knows his cousin and his friends all have them. I've been holding out because I love that he can't get up when he wants and I know he's in there good when I get in my own seat. Also, I spent too much on those car seats to have their life-span shortened by the wants of a little boy. Now John is using Peter's, since it has the "mossy oak" pattern that is Andrew's favorite and John's will be used for visitors and the event that Peter unbuckles himself one more time before I turn off the car. We told him that if does that again, he's going back to the other seat for a while.

Here they are. We got the box out after Daddy got home and they busted out their "toodles" to build the chair. You can see each one of them has something for helping. Ella even has goggles on. 

Peter even has his toy screwdriver and John is testing out the durability already. 

When it was all done, Peter sat in it and yelled enthusiastically, "It is PERFECT!!" He looks like he's filled with joy, and he was.

On Saturday, Andrew had to work and my friend was over with her boys. Ella started the whole thing by getting the box from Peter's seat and putting it on her head. I embellished them with foil and straws and they walked around saying, "I-am-a-rollobot." 

I love the way they say words wrong. These little "rollobots" are still enjoying those boxes. They decorated them with stickers and stamps. John has one, which is smaller, but he's not as into it. 

This is my toddler-build porch swamp. Notice the sun. We haven't seen that in a few days. It came out tonight. After about 5 inches of rain in the past few days. Hurricane Irene. We got the outskirts of the weather. This very weather caused our Saturday night plans to be deterred until Monday. My friend had a great party planned for her son which was to be all outside. I got a call while the kids were napping saying it would have to be postponed. Well, usually that wouldn't be a big deal. I make a point to NOT tell my kids anything that will happen until we are just about loaded in the car. This is because plans change and I hate the looks on their faces when I have to tell them it's cancelled. However, Ella had colored a picture, we had shopped for the gift and Peter had drifted off to sweet nap time slumber knowing he would arise to a party. I actually did something I normally wouldn't do. Even Andrew took a post-call nap with the kids to make it. I asked my friend if we could still come over. Is that just so tacky or what?? She said her other friend had done the same. I'm glad we are good enough friends that this will not reflect poorly on me as a person :). We went out to her house and had a nice time with her "pre-party."Ella actually woke me up by asking, "Is this the day for the rest of the party?" We get to hang out twice in 3 days. I see it as a bonus. Sidenote: I know kids need to learn how to deal with disappointment. I often prepare them, but if it involves a 'maybe' I do not even go there. They get told NO and NOT TODAY often enough. Truth be told, when stuff gets cancelled, I think I am just as bummed.

This entire little pot is filled with rain water. 

I had to laugh as I opened my purse today. You see, the contents of my satchel are not what they used to be. Today it holds 

1. a headband the Ella decided not to wear. 

2. My wallet that is covered in claim stickers I forgot to put on the nursery list after church.

3. A necklace that Ella put in there after her class.

4. 3 diapers

5. My new book for Bible Study called Jonah. 

6. A bag of organic baby food that I got with a coupon and I give it to John or even Ella or Peter if we're going to be away from home a long time.

7. A pink kazoo.

Before I took the picture I removed the turquoise mary janes I wore at church. I had to put my rain boots on outside.

My phone usually goes in the outer pocket.

My chapstick is in there too. Along with some Arby's coupons.

Oh these are the days.

Here it begins...

My journey as a mommy of a school aged child. This was one of those bittersweet days that goes in the books, on the charts, and will forever be embedded in my mind. The way Ella was the first one awake, which is not normal, how she came down and got everyone their oatmeal, and even finished first, only argued with me once over her shoes, put on her backpack and strutted to the car with confidence I didn't recognize. This seems like it was yesterday. Today was Ella's first day of Preschool.  Now, Andrew and I didn't ever go to preschool so a few years back we thought maybe we wouldn't send our kids. However, Ella doesn't make the age cut for Kindergarden and she is ready for structure and learning. I considered the idea of home schooling for all of about 1 day. I tried to sit with Ella last year and trace letters, learn numbers, and draw. It lasted about 2 minutes until Peter wanted attention and John woke from his nap. I quickly discovered that since my Ella still takes a nap (yes!) that she and I would not have the one on one time necessary to focus and learn. Can't say I was all that heartbroken. I loved school. I loved my friends, my teachers, my desk, my supplies, recess, lunch, sports...all of it. If circumstances in the next few years require a change of plans, I'm open, but for now, she will enjoy a few hours free of little bothers, I mean brothers for learning and developing on her own. Her teacher goes to our church and there aren't too many kids in her class. Andrew was able to take her to Dunkin' Donuts with us today before dropping her off. He said, "Ella, are you allowed to look that cute when you go to school?" She laughed and hugged him. We took pictures (of course) and went inside. She was a little shy at first, but she found some little sorting bears (she loves to sort), and started playing when Peter quickly came to her side. When it was time to go, Peter did not want to leave. Ella did well, gave me a hug and kiss and did not even tear up. (I did). With the boys in the car (Peter took over her booster seat straight away), John looked at me in the mirror and repeated, "Where Ewa? Where Ewa?" Peter said, "I want to go to school too!" I'm pretty sure the boys were more effected than Ella was. She had a fun time, said her favorite was the story. Curious George Goes to School. Fitting.   The attempt. I will just call it that. There she is. Her first choice for play activities. Not ponies. Not Barbies.  Sorting. "Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression."  ~ Dr. Haim Ginott

Dedicated

This past Sunday when Andrew's parents were here, we were able to have Peter and John dedicated at church. Ella had this opportunity up in Alaska back in 2006, when she was about 8 weeks old. Turns out, when you put it off for 2 years and dedicate a 3 1/2 year old and an almost 2 year old, it doesn't really matter. It's never too late. In fact, in some ways it was even more meaningful because we know their personalities. At First Baptist, they print out a nice paper with each child's name on it (I may just ask them to do one for Ella) and use the letters in their name as an acrostic to describe them. I loved how fitting the words were for the boys. I almost cried, but I held it together. The kids behaved well up front and we are glad to have had the chance to do this for our family. 

Persuasive ~1 Peter 3:15

Encourager ~ 1 Thess. 5:11

Truthful ~ Ephesians 4:15

Enthusiastic ~ Titus 2:14

Responsible ~ 2 Timothy 2:15

Joyful ~ Nehemiah 8:10

Opportunist ~ Ephesians 5:16

Honest ~ Ephesians 4:25

Noble ~ Acts 17:11

If you know my children, you know why I would smile at these words. 

They are perfect. 

B is for...

Boston.

On the last day of our trip, we drove up to Boston and spent the day there. It is a neat city that I would love to explore more of someday. We took the trolley tour and did the harbor cruise as well. The kids had a nice time, we even tired them out so much that John was asleep before we left the parking garage. I would say overall that taking small kids around in the city is a bit of a task, but these three are fairly used to it and do a good job seeing the sights. 

This is the last picture we took in front of the house we spent our time at.  Renting a house is a great way to spend time in once place, that's for sure.

The view from the top of the street. The houses by the beach were amazing. Plymouth boasts of lovely living if you're in the market for uprooting to a historical, quaint, coastal town with lots of beach front property!

On the trolley. 

Bobby Orr's statue of his overtime goal in 1970 to win the Stanley Cup.

Fun on the trolley.

Our tour guide told us the windows in this building are 200+ years old and came from Europe. 

Mary Barrett Dyer (c. 1611^[1] — June 1, 1660) was an English Puritan turned Quaker who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony (now in present-day Massachusetts), for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony.^[2] She is one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs.
courtesy of Wikipedia

Ella and I have a picture taken in the San Fransisco harbor just like this, only she was about 7mos old.

The great skyline from the water.

"Old Ironsides" is the only sailer still active in the Navy.  In order to remain on active status, it has to sail once a year. So on the 4th it goes around the harbor.

Home of the Bruins. Go Boston. They won the Stanley Cup again this year.

We love cities. We love traveling. Especially with family. Andrew's parents took us on this trip in memory of Barb's father. We had so much fun. On the way back we stopped to meet up with more of her family in South Hadley, MA. This has been a wonderful summer of time with Grandparents, from Alaska in May, to July's Chicago road trip, and this adventure in Massachusetts. We are thankful that we get to visit and are visited by family. Discovering new places is an added bonus. 

Here's to a crazy Fall that is quickly coming upon us...