The end of an era

I remember making fun of my aunt Tammy when she got a mini-van. She was fairly young and I was a teenager and vans were just not cool. I remember making fun of my friend Delta when she was like 23 and bought her first mini-van. Again, we were just out of college and mini-vans were not cool. I really think she might have even gotten hers before having a baby. And then, at the young age of 28, Elle and I came home from a trip to see my mom, and my husband had a mini-van sitting in the driveway. For me. He traded in my dearly beloved 4Runner for a van. How would I face my mini-van driving family and friends? Was this really the direction my life was headed? But I'm a practical person. When you become an adult and a parent, sometimes practicality has to win out over coolness. I knew it was a good thing for us. And I drove that sweet ride from December of 2006 until last week.

I got a new car. And it is the family version of my dearly beloved 4Runner. I'm very excited about it and so thankful for it. It is 4 years newer than the ol' mini van with 74K less miles on it. My husband and a friend laugh at me because I wanted cloth interior. But I got my cloth interior:). And I've instituted a "water only" policy and an "only food that can be vacuumed" policy for those under 21. I had to make it 21 so my sister would be obligated to the policies as well. She and Grady tend to spill things a lot.

Grady got a new car too. An awesome birthday present from Aunt Rhonda, Uncle Luke and cousin Andi. He's definitely cuter on his than I am in mine. But I might have gained some coolness back.

The one thing my "new" car doesn't have that I had hoped for, is a factory DVD player. I would love some suggestions and recommendations for what to buy for the car. We've been using a hand-me-down one of my aunt's (maybe she had it in her van:), that only plays in black and white now and I thought we could potentially upgrade to a color version.

Routine

I feel like we are getting back in to the swing of things. School. Routines. Mother's Day Out. As much as I love summer and the freedom to be flexible and spontaneous, I have to admit I love a good routine. And sometimes I think my kids do thrive when they have a general idea of the way the days go. Or maybe because I do better, they do better.

First grade is awesome, even better than kindergarten. We finished reading Mr Popper's Penguins and have moved on to Pollyanna. We are having a lot of fun exploring different math concepts and manipulatives. Last week, we focused on patterns and this week we are sorting and classifying. Again, I have so much stuff my mom has graciously given, we are never bored using the same things. We're breaking out the huge box of shells on Thursday! Elle has really enjoyed our drawing lessons and music so far (so have I--Peter and the Wolf rocks!). She really is a great student and so easy to teach. Academically, she's spot on. But like her brother (and the rest of us), we are learning and growing in character and trusting the Lord to soften her heart towards Him.

There are some other additions to our "routine" this year. I am teaching the 4 and 5 year olds in Sunday School. This past Sunday was our first Sunday together. I do not have a teaching degree nor have I ever taught in any form besides homeschooling Elle. Let's just say I'm very thankful Steven attended with me:). Really, it was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to getting to know these kids over the year, to pray with them and for them, and learn about God together. It's going to be a learning process for me for sure. Just like homeschooling was last year. I am comfortable teaching my kids in my home, but lots of kids in a classroom with a time schedule is a bit different. I learned Sunday that I have to think through time management a little better. And remember that these are 4 & 5 year olds!

**I do have to interject here for record's sake that both Elle and Grady stayed in worship with us the entire time and we did not have to correct behavior for either of them the entire service. They were the most well-behaved kids! Three days later, and I'm still awed and amazed. I honestly didn't think it was possible. Well, for Grady at least. There's always next Sunday for behavior issues, right?

The kids and I are going to be a part of Community Bible Study this year as well. Our first day is tomorrow. The kids' teachers have already called to introduce themselves. I have heard such great things about this and am very excited for us all to be involved in group Bible study. It's been about 7 years since I have been in any type of small group study.

And not to leave little Reese out, he has been doing great too. He is doing so much better staying in his bed and not getting out to eat Tums or anything else. He's doing awesome about going to the nursery at church. He's putting lots of words together and will eat anything that you put on his plate. I have started talking about the potty with him and he's sat on it a few times before taking a bath, but he is definitely content with diapers for now:).

We have one last hoorah at the beach planned for the week after Labor Day. Steven is taking his vacation and the five of us are going back to the same place we went last Labor Day. The kids are so excited and are counting down the days!

He's Four!

Yesterday was a big day around here.

First, our little man turned four. We had a pre-birthday dinner celebration the night before at Chick-fil-A with Poppey, Gigi, Uncle Mark, Aunt Khaki, and cousin Powell. He was very patient and waited for us the next morning even though he knew presents were waiting.

He was thrilled to get the big Finn McMissile from my mom and Siddeley the Spy Jet from Grammy. Here they are planning their next spy mission. Or maybe they are just introducing themselves. He also acquired several new Transformers, a stomp rocket, a new book, a new movie, some new Cars underwear and a cool number shirt.

Then we moved on the second big part of the day: school. It might not have been the smartest parent move to give him all his new birthday presents and then expect him to be excited about leaving them and going to school. But he did not cry or complain or protest. I sent birthday cupcakes for his class and teachers to celebrate with him. When I picked him up, I asked his teacher if he was cooperative and she said, "for the most part." Which means he wasn't:). Then she said, "But he's a good kid" and Grady said, "You're a good teacher." And that dear boy, is why you'll make it through. You are such an encourager and love bug and compliment-giver. Your charm makes up where your attitude lacks. But we are still going to work on it and pray the Lord continues to change that little heart!

After nap time, we went outside to play with the stomp rocket. It was a lot of fun but in ten minutes time, we'd lost two rockets to the tree and one to the roof and I had successfully gotten 8 mosquito bites. I might not go outside again until fall.

The birthday boy requested pancakes for dinner, so pancakes we had. Then one more cupcake for dessert. He asked me to sing Happy Birthday so I did. All by myself. Grady, we love you so much and are so thankful for you and proud of you. You make us laugh all the time and encourage us. We pray the Lord gives you a long life enjoying Him and loving people. I look forward to seeing how He uses you and your gifts and talents. And how He molds and grows your character!:) Happy 4th Big Guy!

Back to School

We had a fun week with my sister last week and were sad to see her leave Monday. She was a big help around the house with dishes, folding laundry, playing with the kids, etc. It was so nice to have an extra set of hands all week. But, I felt like I worked her hard getting ready for the yard sale. She might not come back! We did end the week with a well-deserved pedicure which might have redeemed me a little. We left her at the airport and Grady said, "I'll see her plane and never, never forget Maddie."

We started school this week. I am homeschooling Elle again this year for first grade. She was so excited about the first day. She was dressed with shoes on before breakfast. I can only hope this attitude will last more than a couple of weeks! I was pleased with the curriculum we used last year, so we bought from them again. She is reading really well so we are focusing a lot on math manipulatives this year along with science, art, music, poetry and handwriting. We've got a great list of classic literature books I'll be reading with her. That just might be my favorite time. My mom has been such a tremendous resource for us and I don't know that I would feel as successful without her help and all the "stuff" she has given us. We are also a part of a church school this year and hope to take part in the fall and spring co-op programs. She didn't get to finish out her year of dance last year since we moved, but she's asked to take gymnastics this year. And of course, I can't say no to that:)!

This child made $26 at her stand during the yard sale!

We are attempting Mother's Day Out with Grady again this year. I felt sure he would not survive a 5-day 4K program, so we went with two days of MDO. As we've talked about it this summer, he has insisted he is not going to school. And guess when his first day is? Next Tuesday, his 4th birthday.  I  promised to send cupcakes the first day for his class to celebrate and he's at least agreed to going that day. I know he'll be fine and he will have a good time. I'm praying that he will really want to go and it will be fun for him and not a battle. {I have enough of those already!} He has done "school" with us each morning for 30 minutes with a better attitude than ever before, so I'm hopeful.

And little Reesie will be with me all day, every day.

It's Time

It's 5:30 AM and I have officially gone crazy. You see, I am having a yard sale today and that puts you in the crazy category:). The boys spent the night at Dad and Sandi's and Maddie's still here to help with Elle and her lemonade stand {because what August yard sale is complete without lemonade?} and all will be right again with the world in a few hours.

Grady fought with a plastic bin early in the week. He lost.

And just because it's my blog and I'd rather be looking at pictures of the beach:

I love the Gulf Coast

We just returned from a wonderful week at the beach. A big fat thanks to my mom for letting us share her vacation week! We loved it. Steven popped in every now and then and spent a lot of the time he was there working, but we were glad he was "with" us for some of the week. My brother and nephew came to spend a night with us and my two aunts and two cousins spent one day too. There were two full days of rain that we filled with movies {Winnie-the-Pooh}, games, food, and books. I also managed to get in my first call to Poison Control. Reese, instead of laying down and napping, decided to snack on a bottle of kids' tums. He did not complain of a stomach ache for the rest of the trip:). Seriously, he didn't ingest very many and all was well. But that little stinker will get in to anything and everything. He was bunking in our room and there was a limited amount of shelving over four feet tall. Over the week, he managed to: empty out the container of wipes, go through my toiletry bag, sort through all the medicines {where fortunately, he could only open the tums}, play with the shower squeegee. I would always hear his feet hit the floor when he was getting up to roam, so the antics didn't last long.

Now we are getting ready for a yard sale this weekend. I can only hope it will be 100 degrees and the mosquitoes will be hungry:). My sister came back from the beach with us so I have some extra help with the kids or sorting through all the bins and boxes and stuff under my carport. We plan to have a little fun somewhere in there too!

Best Birthday Weekend

It's Thursday and I'm just now getting back in to the swing of things. We had one of the best birthday weekends with some wonderful friends down in Orange Beach last weekend. We went down on Friday and had so much fun, we extended our stay until Monday. That decision may have been helped by the fact that Steven's iphone was ruined in an early morning fishing excursion on Saturday and therefore, the work he could do was hindered. And it was his birthday. Just enough excuse to stay one more day, right?

Our hosts kicked things off right with an evening boat ride after a delicious dinner and a birthday cake just for me. This was the boys first ride and only Elle's second. I'm not sure if Reese is more concerned about the boat or the fact that we put a Barbie life jacket on him.

Reese held on for dear life at first, but didn't take long to warm to the idea. Or maybe just to Morgan:). He loves Morgan, almost as much as his own big sister. Grady was on his typical emotional roller coaster, crying hysterically one minute, then pointing at something interesting and smiling the next. I can report that overall, he would give a thumbs up to the boating experience. Elle thought both her Spiderman life jacket and the boat rides were awesome!

We spent time both days riding out to islands, playing in the sand, catching hermit crabs, and enjoying the sun, the sea and the fellowship. Saturday night, Darby had secured two babysitters for our six kids and we enjoyed a night out with our husbands and Tommy. After an amazing dinner, we took another moonlit cruise around the bay.

This is the view from their dock. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The kids had almost as much fun as the adults. Here they are checking the contents of the crab trap. It was always exciting to see what was in there. We even got to examine & partially dissect a red snapper that I did not get a picture of.

Since we've been home, Reese has tried to flush at least 8 toy cars. Four were successfully thrown in to a peed-in toilet. Gloves on, I was able to retrieve them before he hit the flush. The next morning, we lost at least one. We've called in our local plumber {my dad} to assist with search and rescue on Saturday. Because, not surprisingly, the toilet is stopped up. He also managed to chunk John Martin's brand new Finn McMissile off a pier in to the bay while we were there. And he climbed out of the pack-n-play about three times every sleep session. A few times to play with Steven's ipad. Another to play with a 5 pound decorative wooden seal. I also caught him eating a leaf off my ficus tree yesterday {that is dying. I cannot for the life of me, manage an indoor plant.} and I said, "Reese, what are you doing?" He said, "I eatin basil." Life with a 2 year old is never boring, that's for sure.