The best thing about having to sit backwards is always seeing the brother that loves you!
1 day ago
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Pensacola and the Beach
James's grandmother, Mimi, moved into an assisted living living room from her independent living apartment at the same retirement facility last week. There were still some, OK alot, of things to go through and some furniture to be moved as she was moving to a much smaller space. Since the last day of school for Emily was void of all learning and James had to go down on Thursday do take care of some banking items, I checked Emily out early and loaded up the four children and off we went. James had left a few hours earlier to make sure he got there in time to take care of the business stuff. Yes, me and 4 kids on a 5 hour trip. It took us an hour and a half to get to Clanton due to work on the side of the road. It had not even started to rain yet! Potty breaks were interesting as the five of us herded into the restrooms at the rest stops (no way was I taking all of them into a place of business). We did have to stop at a store in the middle of nowhere, where I did leave everyone in the car except the pottier~Rachel, of couse, whose bladder can sense the most inconvenient time/place. We parked next to a sherriff's cruiser so I felt pretty safe as I paced between the bathroom and the front door. At long last we made it. I had the beach as a behavior bargaining chip for part of the way until James called and said the weather was not looking good. At that point I decided I'd better let the subject rest to keep it fom being a bigger deal if we did not get to go.
When we arrived James had completed his "musts" for the day and we decided to take a chance on the beach as Friday's weather looked worse. It poured on us most of the drive over and we considered turning around. I am so glad we didn't. The beach was perfect! A little overcast with sun breaking through and a cool breeze. The water was cold though. Disclaimer: I am not a beach person. It is a pile of dirt with international cess pool washing up in my opinion. You do not have to agree with me, I just don't like the beach. Too bad for me, my children love it! Eli does not remember earlier trips to the beach and of course this was Sam's first. He thought it tasted fine! Here are the pics~see if you can tell when Eli stopped liking the water and never went close to it again.
When we arrived James had completed his "musts" for the day and we decided to take a chance on the beach as Friday's weather looked worse. It poured on us most of the drive over and we considered turning around. I am so glad we didn't. The beach was perfect! A little overcast with sun breaking through and a cool breeze. The water was cold though. Disclaimer: I am not a beach person. It is a pile of dirt with international cess pool washing up in my opinion. You do not have to agree with me, I just don't like the beach. Too bad for me, my children love it! Eli does not remember earlier trips to the beach and of course this was Sam's first. He thought it tasted fine! Here are the pics~see if you can tell when Eli stopped liking the water and never went close to it again.
Friday, May 15, 2009
End of the School Year
Another school year has come and gone. I guess this was our first real school year, like we could be in trouble if someone doesn't show up, but we've been doing the preschool thing for a while so that's close. Anyway, it is always bittersweet. It is good to have a break from the daily grind, especially for mommy~she is so tired of packing lunches at 6 am. It is good that the children have grown and changed and matured through the months. It is hard to accept all that change and growth; escpecially for me since I don't live in the moment well, I blink and the children are a year older and so grown up! Really gotta work on that!
Emily had a fun-filled last 10 days of school. She had field day, her musical performance and party, splash day and pajama day. The non-themed days were filled with movie watching. I am sure there was nothing left to learn! She has had a great year with a super teacher and a really good class. My baby is a first grader and I am sure she will not like that as well. Something about all the work 1st graders have to do. We'll deal with that in August.
Rachel also had a great class with most of the children having been in her class for the last 2 years. Next year, as they move into 4-K they will be spread out among more classrooms and it will be a little sad. But this year she has learned so much from her wonderful teachers Mrs. Joy and Mrs. Lanette. They were perfect for this little girl who is so full of life that she would exhaust just one teacher. Though they say that she was the calmest, most quiet child in the class. Ummm....no.
Eli went from being "the sweetest little boy" to being a little handful. He really started to own being a 2-yr-old mid-year and threw everyone for a loop. He too has come a long way, especially with speech. It was so hard to teach the class next door and have outside play and chapel with his class. He is such a "mommy boy" (his words) that I actually had to stop going to chapel with my class because he could not behave with me in the room. On the playground, he would call to me and give me sideways glances as he would go to do something wrong. Totally frustrating and totally Eli all at the same time. It is hard not to spoil him~he is just the cutest thing and knows how to work it. A little easier for me than some of the staff though, he so has them wrapped. They just hand over their phones and keys when he walks in the room. One is even at his beck and call for snacks when the school day is over. Ridiculous I say!
Well, Sam still sleeps most of the time he is in his classroom. The other time is mostly spent eating. If you've met Sam, you are not surprised. He did learn to sit up, crawl, pull up and say mama (that's right, not dada) during the last 8 months, but you know, he's a baby and would have done that anyway. Sorry Amanda, you get no credit other that keeping all your digits in tact while feeding him bananas!
The last day in my class was much harder than I thought it would be. I am exhausted and have been eagerly awaiting the end of the year. I started out the year on "maternity leave" and came into the classroom a month into the year. There were challenges, but for the most part everything went as expected and really was good. I just really need a little break from all the busyness. So the last day, the director had us watch the video that was shown to the parents at the recognition program two days earlier before the children came in. I had already been a little sad, but I just got so emotional watching the pictures from early in the year and realizing how much they had grown (my kids' pictures were in there too). At the party later that morning I wanted to say nice things about the children, but got choked up on that too. I am an admitted crier, but this was a bit much even for me! Anyway, I will miss my sweet little class, but move on they must.
Emily had a fun-filled last 10 days of school. She had field day, her musical performance and party, splash day and pajama day. The non-themed days were filled with movie watching. I am sure there was nothing left to learn! She has had a great year with a super teacher and a really good class. My baby is a first grader and I am sure she will not like that as well. Something about all the work 1st graders have to do. We'll deal with that in August.
Rachel also had a great class with most of the children having been in her class for the last 2 years. Next year, as they move into 4-K they will be spread out among more classrooms and it will be a little sad. But this year she has learned so much from her wonderful teachers Mrs. Joy and Mrs. Lanette. They were perfect for this little girl who is so full of life that she would exhaust just one teacher. Though they say that she was the calmest, most quiet child in the class. Ummm....no.
Eli went from being "the sweetest little boy" to being a little handful. He really started to own being a 2-yr-old mid-year and threw everyone for a loop. He too has come a long way, especially with speech. It was so hard to teach the class next door and have outside play and chapel with his class. He is such a "mommy boy" (his words) that I actually had to stop going to chapel with my class because he could not behave with me in the room. On the playground, he would call to me and give me sideways glances as he would go to do something wrong. Totally frustrating and totally Eli all at the same time. It is hard not to spoil him~he is just the cutest thing and knows how to work it. A little easier for me than some of the staff though, he so has them wrapped. They just hand over their phones and keys when he walks in the room. One is even at his beck and call for snacks when the school day is over. Ridiculous I say!
Well, Sam still sleeps most of the time he is in his classroom. The other time is mostly spent eating. If you've met Sam, you are not surprised. He did learn to sit up, crawl, pull up and say mama (that's right, not dada) during the last 8 months, but you know, he's a baby and would have done that anyway. Sorry Amanda, you get no credit other that keeping all your digits in tact while feeding him bananas!
The last day in my class was much harder than I thought it would be. I am exhausted and have been eagerly awaiting the end of the year. I started out the year on "maternity leave" and came into the classroom a month into the year. There were challenges, but for the most part everything went as expected and really was good. I just really need a little break from all the busyness. So the last day, the director had us watch the video that was shown to the parents at the recognition program two days earlier before the children came in. I had already been a little sad, but I just got so emotional watching the pictures from early in the year and realizing how much they had grown (my kids' pictures were in there too). At the party later that morning I wanted to say nice things about the children, but got choked up on that too. I am an admitted crier, but this was a bit much even for me! Anyway, I will miss my sweet little class, but move on they must.
Strawberry Picking & Carnival
We took the kids to pick strawberries a few weeks ago and had a great time. They liked chasing the farmer's dog as much as anything else, but it was a great chance for them to realize in an interactive way that food does not just come from the store. The farm is in Clanton and we arrived just before I thought my head would explode from the "when will we be there"s. (A thousand apologies Mom and Dad for each such utterance in my youth.) Everyone grabbed a basket and was off! The girls did a great job choosing berries while Eli and Sam kicked back in the stroller. We let Eli out for a bit (you know, the photo op) but out of concern for the entire patch we had to keep him reined in.
On the way back we remembered that a local school was having it's fundraiser which is a carnival. We have taken the girls the past couple of years and thought it was time for Eli to join in the fun. So we drove straight there without mentioning it to the kids. As we drove through the parking lot Emily said, "What are we doing here? This place makes me think of the carnival." Then she looked up and saw it all and got super excited! It is a small thing, but it has become a tradition. Emily and Rachel ask throughout the year when the carnival is and Eli talked about driving the motorcycles (one of the rides) for several days. I love that they look forward to these times together. I love even more being their mom.
Softball: I Survived, I Deserve a Prize!
Well, I totally intended to post something about softball before the season was over, but alas the season is over and somehow we survived. First of all, I was expecting one practice and one game per week like all the other sports we've done or inquired about. Not so! 6 & under softball requires at least two practices per week before games start and up to 4 games per week once the season get underway. Already grumpy from this schedule, when someone mentioned that we had to travel I was ready to scream. I mean, I love my children and I want them to have fun and experience things, but a traveling 6 year-old softball team is a little hard to take. Lucky for whoever is in charge they did not make the 6U girls travel this season. We did however have some 7:30 games on school nights. Can you say "Happy Mommy"?
Two of the four teams at Chelsea were coached by Softball Board members and so were pretty advanced if you catch my drift. We had evaluations before the draft (yes, I am using these words for 6U) but they were certainly not used to make things fair. Truly, this is not just sour grapes! I am not all about winning, but I do think that all the teams should have some chance to win sometimes. Our record was some big number-2 (one win was a forfeit, the other by the skin of their teeth) so Emily and Rachel did have to learn to be good losers and it was not a wasted experience. Our girls, the Chelsea Heat, played with alot of heart and by the end of the season were making some good plays. I am proud of all of them and grateful to our 3 coaches for being positive with the girls in a tough situation, especially since other coaches were teaching their teams to be extra rough (push the runner off the base, shove the runner to the ground when tagging them out in the baseline, etc) even though they outweighed our players by a good 15-20 pounds. Seriously, in the last game if Rachel had had a white flag she would have waved it. She just stopped running and threw up her little hands to try to keep them from doing bodily harm. It was cute, but hard to see her give up. I can't blame her though, these girls had knocked her down hard too many times to risk it again.
Rachel at bat; I know this is her because she is so tiny that the socks go right into the shorts that you can't really see because the shirt is so long.
A great level swing from Emily at a poorly thrown pitch (sorry Coach Jim); that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Two of the four teams at Chelsea were coached by Softball Board members and so were pretty advanced if you catch my drift. We had evaluations before the draft (yes, I am using these words for 6U) but they were certainly not used to make things fair. Truly, this is not just sour grapes! I am not all about winning, but I do think that all the teams should have some chance to win sometimes. Our record was some big number-2 (one win was a forfeit, the other by the skin of their teeth) so Emily and Rachel did have to learn to be good losers and it was not a wasted experience. Our girls, the Chelsea Heat, played with alot of heart and by the end of the season were making some good plays. I am proud of all of them and grateful to our 3 coaches for being positive with the girls in a tough situation, especially since other coaches were teaching their teams to be extra rough (push the runner off the base, shove the runner to the ground when tagging them out in the baseline, etc) even though they outweighed our players by a good 15-20 pounds. Seriously, in the last game if Rachel had had a white flag she would have waved it. She just stopped running and threw up her little hands to try to keep them from doing bodily harm. It was cute, but hard to see her give up. I can't blame her though, these girls had knocked her down hard too many times to risk it again.
Rachel at bat; I know this is her because she is so tiny that the socks go right into the shorts that you can't really see because the shirt is so long.
A great level swing from Emily at a poorly thrown pitch (sorry Coach Jim); that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
That said, it wasn't all bad. We loved going to the fields and the sense of community you get there. Eli loved that he got a little freedom running between neighbors in the bleachers and later on just running. Even Sam thought it was pretty cool just to be chillin' outside in the stroller. Will we play again next year? If the girls want to. They had alot of fun with their teammates and cheering (did not know there were softball cheers) in the dugout. I'm told things will be a little different next year and I did my part with my ballot. So, we'll just have to wait and see.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter
I love Easter. Christmas is my favorite because the season lasts longer and people are happier usually for a little while, and come on, it's a baby (I'm just in that season of life right now). But I know that if there were no Easter there would be no Christmas. The end of His mortality created the celebration of the beginning of it.
We try to separate the secular bunny rabbit and egg stuff from the power and beauty of Easter. The bunny is quite accomodating, visiting our house on Saturday so we can concentrate on more meaningful things Sunday. This year he came right in the house while we were all down in the play room. We decided to all come upstairs and Emily was first. She made the announcement that the Easter Bunny had come and Rachel froze on the stairs. She would not walk through the kitchen to the livingroom because she did not want to see him. Emily quickly explained that he was already gone and we proceeded with the baskets. After a few minutes they looked out the back windows and realized that there were eggs all over the back yard. Shoes have never been donned so fast in house before! We had a fun family egg hunt then turned our minds to the real Easter. Unfortunately, Mommy did not get to attend church Sunday though due a reaction to all the meds the doc gave me for a double ear infection and sinus infection on Saturday. I was up all night with strange compression sensations throughout my body. But, the children were beautiful in their new duds and we all celebrated the life-giving Atonement and Sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, just not in the pew together.
Since we had purchased a new DSLR camera but it had not yet arrived, we decided to use grandma's old SLR to practice up. I will post pictures if I ever remember to take the roll of film to get a CD made.
We try to separate the secular bunny rabbit and egg stuff from the power and beauty of Easter. The bunny is quite accomodating, visiting our house on Saturday so we can concentrate on more meaningful things Sunday. This year he came right in the house while we were all down in the play room. We decided to all come upstairs and Emily was first. She made the announcement that the Easter Bunny had come and Rachel froze on the stairs. She would not walk through the kitchen to the livingroom because she did not want to see him. Emily quickly explained that he was already gone and we proceeded with the baskets. After a few minutes they looked out the back windows and realized that there were eggs all over the back yard. Shoes have never been donned so fast in house before! We had a fun family egg hunt then turned our minds to the real Easter. Unfortunately, Mommy did not get to attend church Sunday though due a reaction to all the meds the doc gave me for a double ear infection and sinus infection on Saturday. I was up all night with strange compression sensations throughout my body. But, the children were beautiful in their new duds and we all celebrated the life-giving Atonement and Sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, just not in the pew together.
Since we had purchased a new DSLR camera but it had not yet arrived, we decided to use grandma's old SLR to practice up. I will post pictures if I ever remember to take the roll of film to get a CD made.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Spring Break
Well, potty training was not completed during spring break. It was wishful thinking anyway. But, we did get our day trip in. We went to Atlanta to the zoo and had our first in person IKEA encounter. There will be future encounters. Eli had no wetting accidents the entire 36-hours. Within an hour of returning home he wet his pants. Go figure!
Zoo Atlanta was great! A much happier zoo experience than the Birmingham Zoo. I still think the Montgomery Zoo is the best zoo in all the adjacent states. And way cheap too (especially if you have reciprocal zoo membership)~Well worth the trip. Anyway, you get to see lots of gorillas in Atlanta which is cool because the bachelors will fight a little and its entertaining. There are polar bears and panda bears. The pandas are coming up on their 10 year loan term from China. I would think that the offspring born here get to stay (you know that makes then American citizens) but I am not sure. The babies sure are cute! The mir cats and warthogs are right next to each other so it's a pretty neat Lion King moment. The reptile house is huge and right outside it is the naked mole rat exhibit. If you have never seen them up close, they are way nasty looking creatures! You need to see these critters in person before you die. Just to say you have. And there is a naked mole rat playground for the kiddies too. The Children's Zoo playground is much fun too. A tip for all you moms: they allow outside food unlike B'ham and have scads of tables and benches for snack stops. This is a great day trip!
We spent the night however and spent the next morning at IKEA. It was an amazing wonderland of organization, furnishing and storage ideas with affordable prices. If you have never been there and you like any of the above you should go. There is childcare that my kids loved, a restaurant with surprising variety, a separate bakery/cafe and the whole store is like a triple Home Depot on 2 floors. Allow lots of time. There is a path marked on the floor for you to follow, if that tells you anything. This side trip was a mommy bonus and I loved it! Obviously!
Emily's kindergarten teacher came out to have lunch with us earlier in the week. She was so sweet to come out here and she made all my kids so happy with her visit. Eli was so excited he gave her a new name while trying to say her real name. Emily chose the menu: turkey and baby spinach wraps, strawberries & grapes, carrots & celery with ranch, chips and homemade ice cream sandwiches~I will post the recipe later (you will never want to buy those mass-produced things again, though you probably will since these take a little time~but again, worth it!). What a healthy girl! Even the van got it's annual bath. The kids needed an extra bath that day! Yes, the van was filthy enough to dirty up the washers. I'm not proud, just honest.
All in all we had a pretty great spring break. Not as relaxing for me as they used to be when I was the one in school, but very good. Still, when the day came to head back to school we were ready. Too much togetherness,though there should be no such thing, can happen in a split second (7 people {grandma you know},1 house, 24/7 you do the math). At least it did not happen until the latter part of the week for us. Now we are looking forward to summer with 3 parts anticipation and 1 part trepidation. At least I won't be a grumpy pregnant lady this year!
Zoo Atlanta was great! A much happier zoo experience than the Birmingham Zoo. I still think the Montgomery Zoo is the best zoo in all the adjacent states. And way cheap too (especially if you have reciprocal zoo membership)~Well worth the trip. Anyway, you get to see lots of gorillas in Atlanta which is cool because the bachelors will fight a little and its entertaining. There are polar bears and panda bears. The pandas are coming up on their 10 year loan term from China. I would think that the offspring born here get to stay (you know that makes then American citizens) but I am not sure. The babies sure are cute! The mir cats and warthogs are right next to each other so it's a pretty neat Lion King moment. The reptile house is huge and right outside it is the naked mole rat exhibit. If you have never seen them up close, they are way nasty looking creatures! You need to see these critters in person before you die. Just to say you have. And there is a naked mole rat playground for the kiddies too. The Children's Zoo playground is much fun too. A tip for all you moms: they allow outside food unlike B'ham and have scads of tables and benches for snack stops. This is a great day trip!
We spent the night however and spent the next morning at IKEA. It was an amazing wonderland of organization, furnishing and storage ideas with affordable prices. If you have never been there and you like any of the above you should go. There is childcare that my kids loved, a restaurant with surprising variety, a separate bakery/cafe and the whole store is like a triple Home Depot on 2 floors. Allow lots of time. There is a path marked on the floor for you to follow, if that tells you anything. This side trip was a mommy bonus and I loved it! Obviously!
Emily's kindergarten teacher came out to have lunch with us earlier in the week. She was so sweet to come out here and she made all my kids so happy with her visit. Eli was so excited he gave her a new name while trying to say her real name. Emily chose the menu: turkey and baby spinach wraps, strawberries & grapes, carrots & celery with ranch, chips and homemade ice cream sandwiches~I will post the recipe later (you will never want to buy those mass-produced things again, though you probably will since these take a little time~but again, worth it!). What a healthy girl! Even the van got it's annual bath. The kids needed an extra bath that day! Yes, the van was filthy enough to dirty up the washers. I'm not proud, just honest.
All in all we had a pretty great spring break. Not as relaxing for me as they used to be when I was the one in school, but very good. Still, when the day came to head back to school we were ready. Too much togetherness,though there should be no such thing, can happen in a split second (7 people {grandma you know},1 house, 24/7 you do the math). At least it did not happen until the latter part of the week for us. Now we are looking forward to summer with 3 parts anticipation and 1 part trepidation. At least I won't be a grumpy pregnant lady this year!
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