Things are in full swing here! B has yet to bring home homework, which is fine by me! Does not have much to say at the end of the day either. The other two love getting to the school early and playing outside. It is probably one of my most favorite times of the day. Sitting under the big ol' tree, in the shade, just hanging out and watching the kids. There is a boy who was in 3rd grade last year but is now home-schooled, who loves little JB. His mom is the cross guard, plus his little sister is in B's grade, so he still comes up to the school just to see and play with JB every afternoon. We have also been getting to school early in the mornings so the boys have 20 minutes to play on the playground. Just trying to get them out as much as possible and just play with them.

B had his first soccer practice yesterday. His soccer ball and one shin guard is MIA. I know the shin guard is around here somewhere. The coach's wife was not real impressed with the fact that I made him play with only 1 shin guard. How else do you teach responsibility than receiving a good ol' kick in the shins? (Thankfully that did not happen). She made it pretty clear that you can't play or practice without them, and yes, he was the only one without them.

The other day the boys and I set out on bikes and we stumbled upon some of B's friends from scouts who also live in the neighborhood. I felt like it was the little second grade brat pack. We followed all the other boys on their bikes to the irrigation ditch and they played and played. They did not seem to mind that I was hanging around. Then they came back to our house for a bit. The next day B wanted to go to one of their houses so I set him off by himself on his bike. It was just about a block away but we are now moving into new territory. Getting older and wanting more independence. Lots of prayer and this is where some of what you have been teaching all these years hopefully comes into play. If nothing else, I made it very clear to him what would happen if I found out he was out without his bike helmet on, even if others did not wear theirs, or if he ended up someplace I did not know he was going. Responsibility is a common word these days!

Jbird had his preschool orientation today. He loved it! There are actually 6 boys and 3 girls in his class, so will be fun to meet some more kids for him to get together with. The boy also has an appetite! This morning he had 2 pieces of cinnamon toast. Then a little later we met some friends at McD. He had two sausage biscuits and two hash browns and was still asking for more food by the time we left. He loves to make himself 2 sandwiches for lunch. We recently got on over the oven microwave oven. It is huge and he loves to microwave his own stuff. I have to make sure he does not push an extra zero, but boy is he learning his numbers.

JB has just figured out how to ride his three wheeled scooter. He is very proud of himself as he puts one foot on the scooter and pushes with the other one. The speech therapist said today she is starting to see some phonological patterns, which is good. They are immature, but patterns none the less. He tries so hard to produce some sounds but just can't.

One thing we have been doing a lot lately is playing games. I just love games and so fun now that the boys are getting old enough to play by the rules and provide some competition. B loves Sorry and even gets to stay up later than the others and often indulges in a few games (he is the kid that does not seem to need much sleep). Jbird has beaten me pretty badly in Candyland too! Poor little JB wants in on the action but what he mostly seems to do is just mess up the board. We are trying to teach him though.

I am managing to keep all my plates spinning. I seem to have quite a bit going on right now, although it sounds like more than it really is. I am teaching Jbird's Sunday School class once a month and will be a leader in B's AWANA every week (plus praying about doing story time). I am helping to organize our fall women's retreat and the PTC school Fun Run. I am the team parent for the soccer team and still doing registrar and treasurer for Cub Scouts. I have not found a bible study yet for the fall but have enjoyed my mornings of curling up on the couch with my devotional and bible and blanket. (Yes the mornings are cool enough for blankets).

Off to finish a few things while the house is quiet and then hit the sack. Looking forward to a low key day tomorrow.

I have been working with JB on trying to get himself dressed. He gets the basic concept but still struggles with the actual doing of it. Sunday morning I helped him get his clothes on and then told him to go find his shoes and put them on. He was so proud of himself when he walked around the corner.....(he was all bent over when I took the picture)

I did not have the heart to tell him those were not (techincally) shoes, so that is what he wore to church. Fortunately our church is very laid back and everyone thought it was great!

Here is my new second grader.
He got three days under his belt this week. He says so far it is boring because all they do is talk. (I guess the teacher spends the first 3 days really trying to do some team building, which I think is great). He will have a different teacher for math and reading, so will be interesting to see how that goes.

JB has passed another milestone, one I am not excited about. He can now turn door knobs and open doors. This creates a problem when I put him down for a nap in the big bed, shut the door and head downstairs. I assume all is quiet upstairs, but instead, twice I had found he had come out and was looking for trouble.

Jbird will have his preschool orientation this week. He is very excited and I am curious to see how it all goes.

JR is working away. His responsibilities at work are changing somewhat. He is also finding lots of side jobs to do. With hunting season just around the corner, we probably won't see him much in the near future.

I am finding I love just being at home. (I have my fall schedule worked out and Tuesdays and Thursdays are my stay at home/have no commitment days) Some days though I seem to struggle with what to do. Organizing and getting rid of stuff means less for me to take care of, which is good. I can now focus on hanging more with the kids. But when they are having quiet time or playing by themselves, there are times when I find it hard to just sit...always feeling like I need to be doing something. I know the cold weather is coming up and looking forward to those afternoons of curling up under a blanket and reading.

Tomorrow is the first day back to school. Hopefully I will remember to take a picture - and have time to take one. The clothes are laid out, (along with socks and shoes - usually the biggest thing to find in the mornings.)

The other day I sent the boys upstairs to brush their teeth. Jbird came back downstairs using an electric toothbrush. I asked him if it was his toothbrush and he said no. I told him we don't share toothbrushes, that it is gross. He looked at me very matter of factly and said "yeah, we share a toothbrush just like Kenna and Kolby share a cell phone." (their cousins). It is amazing how healthy we stay around here with all the sharing toothbrushes.

Some other random things said lately around here, some of which makes me scratch my head....Today we were driving and B for some reason started talking about turkey. He said 'Mom, I don't think we should have turkey this Thanksgiving. Turkey is just...just... all turkey. We should have hot dogs instead'. (I am thinking hot dogs are a lot easier and cheaper too!) Jbird seems to think that his friend John always gets the cool fun snacks. Yesterday he asked me why John always gets soda when his mom gives it to him (not sure where the question was there). Tonight I made chicken nuggets. (Finally found a quick easy recipe that does not dry out the chicken - chicken with mayo rubbed on it and then the crust is crushed corn flakes.) Jbird was telling B how good they were and said 'I strongly advise you B to put ranch dressing on your nuggets'. I hear so much of myself in them!

Headed to Wal-mart for some back to school shopping. Also picked up some food items, one of which was chicken. I specifically put the chicken in a plastic bag in case it leaked. Loaded up the rest of the cart with erasers, pencils, glue, folders, bathroom stuff, bike stuff, etc. At the checkout, I went to grab the bag of chicken. Chicken juice got all over the stuff in the cart. The cashier and I are wiping everything up with paper towels and she is trying to salvage all she can. (All the while the people behind me are not happy about them being delayed.) After we were done cleaning, she pointed to a trash can behind me where I could throw my paper towel. I turned around and slipped and fell in chicken juice. Not a happy camper. Fortunately it was not a hard fall and I managed to catch myself just before I totally hit the ground. Needless to say, the staff were right on top of me to make sure I was okay.

Things are starting to gear up with cub scouts, Awana, soccer and PTC. Will be a busy fall but excited that it is busy with boys' stuff. Always so thankful that we are in a position where I can stay home with the boys and be involved in their lives. I hope to never take that for granted! God gives those working moms a great ability. I am sure I could pull it off if I had to but very thankful that HE provides just enough for us and that our lifestyle is such that it does not require me to work!

Yesterday B and I attended the Celebration of Life for his principal. (They are still not sure what happened, but calling it a heart related event.) He was 53 (and very fit and athletic) and I think the fact that it happened during the summer made it much easier on the kids. I cannot imagine how it would have been more difficult if they had just seen him yesterday or the day before. It was a wonderful service. I did not know him very well and honestly, what little I did know, what tainted by the opinions of others that worked with him on specific things. However, at the service, it was very clear that he was very serious but also incredibly humorous. He was always looking for ways to combine technology with the classroom. The superintendent talked about how his annual review was in July and all the values he was passionate about. His wife and three kids were there. Two different slide shows were shown. All the elementary school staff and kids present went up on the stage and did their school chant. The service was closed with all of us scooting across the aisles, arms around shoulders and we swayed as we sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". (He was a HUGE Red Sox fan.) Will miss seeing his smile and watching all the 'knuckle punches' with the kids. I think he could call all 535 students by their first name, or atleast close to it.

Today the boys and I set out on a hike with the cub scout troop. It is always fun when I hike on a trail I have never been on. This one is just across the street from a very well traveled on, but nice to get a different view.

We found a shelter built up top. This is a shelter! Assuming it was built a stick here and a stick there by many different people.

Taking a break! I took JB out of the backpack for a while and he hiked almost 1/2 a mile, most of it in the sun!


Had the bumper on the van replaced. The great thing about the fender bender is that the most dinged up part of the car was the bumper, so replacing it makes it look much nice.

Have a quiet rest of the weekend planned. The only thing on the agenda is shopping for school supplies and with Back to School Night Monday, time is running out. B found out his teacher. A lady who took last year off (due to a medical leave for a family member I think) but has about 20 years experience with Kindergarten, First and Second grade. If she is the teacher I am thinking about, she loves to sing in her classroom. This would be awesome because B learns so much through song!

This past weekend we found some inflatables at the local park. This is the first time we have seen this one. It is a lot harder than it looks since the 'holds' are not real solid.



Twice recently we have been out and about and JB goes to sit on a bench or chair and manages to fall through the space between the chair part and the back part. Not sure how he manages it, but just fits right through there and gets just the right angle. He has started using the word 'off' in the right context, so we now have about 4 words. Baby steps!

Today we set out on bikes to hit a couple of parks.








We also hit the library and a few other stops. Jbird has been doing well riding on his bike without training wheels, so we ventured onto a street with a little more traffic (not tons). We were riding against traffic and a policeman came towards up and rolled down his window. He told me the boys needed to be riding with the traffic. I told him I disagreed and wanted to know the reasoning behind it. He told me to catch up with the boys (who continued to ride on) and he would turn around and talk with me. I made it very clear that I was not trying to be argumentative but that as a parent, trying to teach my children to ride on the side of the road, I felt much safer with them going against the traffic. It was easier for them to see what is in front of them than to try to listen to a car come up from behind them. He said he understood but the law was since they are allowed on the road,they are considered vehicles and they need to be going with the flow of the traffic. He admitted he did not know if going with the flow or against it was safest, but it was the law. I told him I appreciated his concern and taking the time to pull over. I also told him how frustrated I was that there are not more sidewalks in this town and how do you teach your child to ride on the side of the road unless he rides on the side of the road. (I remember reading that 'law' a couple of months ago and at the time thought the same thing...). He was very nice and understood my viewpoint too. I just wish our 'outdoor' loving community had more sidewalks and bike trails.

Not too long ago we were reading in the kids' devotional book. Came across the verse of the day. Ecclesiastes 6:9..."It is better to be happy with what you have than always wanting more." The mileage I have gotten out of that verse. There are times I will start to quote it and one of the boys will say 'remember that it is better.....' (That makes a momma's heart proud.

Friday B and I will go to the memorial service for his principal. He was 53. They are still not sure what happened, calling it a cardiac event. Not sure if they will ever now, but sure would be helpful for the family in case it was something that could be hereditary.

I have always thought all of my boys were pretty smart and attentive, but JB has me running scared. Monkey see monkey do. That little kid lets nothing hold him back. He will watch any one of us do something and when I turn my back, he has followed in our footsteps. Not bad with some things, but when it requires him dragging over chairs and step stools so he can climb on top of the counter to get what he is looking for..... One more reason I always pray for a hedge of protection for my boys. I have always believed more in houseproofing my child but he might be the first that I childproof my house for. When he gets the stern "no", big ol' puppy dog face and huge tears start forming....then we say 'don't smile' and within seconds the whole demeanor has changed - drama king/clown. He has also started challenging me more in public, especially when it comes to him wanting me to carry him and I say no. He will have a big stand off with me, all with curious onlookers. I think I have won most, if not all, of them.

Soccer begins in 2 weeks for B. I am the team parent this season, so will add a few more responsibilities to my plate for a bit. Awana also begins early September. I will be teaching Cubbies this year with Jbird. Heard this past week that our school board, as well as the neighboring town's school board, are looking into year round school for our district. Exploring the pros and cons. Have mixed feelings about it but I would think the pros outweigh the cons. (Anyone reading this a part of year round school and if so, how is it working out?). Last night B's principal at his school died. He never recovered from his collapsed artery or whatever it was. School starts in 10 days.

This weekend I helped cater a rehearsal dinner. There were 150 people and I think every one of them were from Texas. Still not real sure how they all ended up north. It was a high faluten (spelling) event. I walked around and served appetizers. Jalapeno bites with gargonzola and cream cheese and candied bacon. I did not know that bacon could be candied but I have already googled a few recipes. Delicious. As was the smoked pheasant on grilled brioche (some kind of bread that has a ton of butter) with flathead cherry jam and carmelized shallots. It was a 4 course plated dinner. I never knew the ins and outs of kitchen cooking. I know now how they get food out so quickly - huge assembly line.

A couple of meetings lined up this week, few playdates, some tennis and getting the back bumper replaced on the car. Supposed to be nice weather so hopefully some more bike riding!

We are trying to transition JB from a sippy cup to a regular cup. He usually does great, not spilling anything. However, look what happens when you leave a newly 2 year old unattended in their chair with a cup of Fruit Punch Powerade.


Hit the courts again with my new tennis friend. Just love hitting with someone that is just about my level. He is in better shape but has a few more years on him than I do, so it evens out the playing field. I took a babysitter to the park with us while I played, so made it even better! I was telling him that the raquet I play with is the same one I played with 25 years ago. (Shows you how little I have played the last 20 years). I can't bring myself to upgrade. However, he assures me that technology has changed so much that I would be surprised at how rackets have evolved. Might try to demo a few this weekend.

Working a few hours this Friday night. There is a huge wedding party and the reception is a seated, plated dinner. They are bringing in about 30 additional staff for 2 hours so that everyone can be served at about the same time. I can't imagine being on the set up and clean up for that one.

Found out yesterday that the principal at B's school is in ICU. He was running and collapsed. First thought was a heart attack but now thinking a collapsed artery. He is still in a medical induced coma. The man is in incredible shape and probably somewhere around 50. Needless to say, everyone at the school is panicking. Back to school night in 10 days!

Our garden, our dismal garden. It does not help that it has been neglected this summer and not watered as often as it should have been. The pepper plants are just starting to grow. The corn is getting tall. We have corn planted in two different spots, one received full sun and the other does not. Interesting to see the differnce in the two. The carrots, poor carrots. I did not thin them out, so don't have a lot of room to grow. However, Jbird pulled one up that was about the size of a finger. I was quite pleased as he stood in the backyard and ate it, right from the ground. A good flavor. We need to do some work before next summer and find some good topsoil. I wish we had the room for a raised bed. JR has built a playhouse in the back yard, along with the sand box that is there, so not a lot of sunny spots left in our yard.

The weekend was crazy. I put in 17 hours of catering two weddings. On Friday night I was driving home in the van and got rear ended. The first wreck I have been in in probably more than 10 years. It was low impact. We were both stopped at a stop sign and I pulled forward a little. The guy behind me thought I had taken off. He was really cool about it but I felt bad for him because of his wife. She came across as the type that would not let him forget this and bring it back up for weeks on end. I got a quote yesterday, $1035 to replace the back bumper. Fortunately it is all cosmetic, no other damage. The other insurance (State Farm) has already called me and approved the repairs, offered to pay for rental if needed, etc.

Then on Saturday evening, I was headed home again from working and came about 6 inches from taking out a dear. All I could do was thank God that it changed it's course, cause that time I was in the little Toyota and not the van.

Sunday we celebrated JB's birthday. Just the family with cake and ice cream. He loved the cake and insisted on eating the ice cream with his hands.

I finished off the weekend watching Soul Surfer. A great, inspirational movie! I have never really had a person I consistently played tennis with but the one guy I played with the most, died over the winter. So I took the opportunity to approach an older man I saw playing recently. We got together this morning and I think it is a pretty good match up. Hopefully we can get out 2 or 3 times a week. Felt great to play again.

Happy 2nd birthday to JB. What a delight he is! So full of adventure. (Just today I found him standing on top of his tricycle trying to climb on top of the car. The trike had just about rolled out from underneath him - yet he was undeterred and climbed back up to try again.) For a little guy that always has a smile on his face, this is all I could get on his birthday.

So thankful for the last 2 years and look forward to many more to come. What an amazing blessing you are JB>

Earlier this week, I decided to tackle a problem area in our house. The boys don't keep any toys, books or clothes in their room. Yet there is always stuff laying between the beds, under the beds, etc. So, I reconfigured their room and turned the double bed the other way, so there is no walkway between that bed and the bunk beds (a perfect fit). Thus eliminating alot of the access to under the bed too.

Can you guess what it took them about 30 seconds to figure out....bingo. They can jump off the top to the bottom. (Why they never tried it when there was a foot of space I don't know.) What is a mom to do. (I don't want to tell them it is okay but I am smart enough to know that they are going to do it regardless of what I say.)It does seem perfectly harmless and quite honestly, if I was a 4 or 7 year old boy, I would want to do the same thing. (Shoot as an adult it looks like fun.) So, they have been given the warning that it is not the safest thing to do and if you do it and get hurt, don't come crying to me about it. We will see how long this continues.

The boys have gotten into raiding my tool box. The other day they both had screw drivers in hand and asked if they could remove the switch plate covers. Sure, why not. Jbird got 5 of them off in the time it took B to take one off. Then yesterday Jbird took off the training wheels off of his second bike (it had been 'lost' for a while but now find). He took some scrap wood and started nailing things together! A little carpenter.


At the end of the school year B slipped in his math scores. So I decided we would do some math throughout the summer. That has been difficult. Then I had the bright idea of trying to have him do some online math games.

Still not the best idea....I cannot make him do his homework at this point and not real sure how to win the battle. (Other than his grades suffer during the school year - which I am willing to do for him to learn responsibility. I just hope he can turn things around. He is very, very strong willed!)

Took B to the orthodontist the other day. He has an upper crossbite, which in essence means his palate (upper teeth) is not as wide as his jaw. There is no room for adult teeth to come in up top. I find it even very difficult to floss his upper teeth. So, looks like a palate expander is in our near future. What we are waiting on is his 6 year molars (yes, he is 7). They have not come in yet so they have nothing to attach the expander to. One of them is just starting to break through and the other one can't be seen. We have a follow up in 6 months and hopefully they will be in by then. (The boys and I were all in the exam room - younger two played in the corner. The orthodontist was not impressed with my younger two. At one point he yelled at his dental assistant to come into the room to watch my boys. It was frustrating because the assistant had told them they could play with some stuff but the ortho was not having it. Guess it did not help that they had been in the house all day. Note to self, run them crazy before the next appt.)

I have started sitting in on JB's speech sessions. Not sure why I have not done this before...thought I would be a distraction plus having to watch the other boys. The older two boys have done fine in the waiting room. Has been very interesting to watch the interaction in the therapy room. She is very focused with him and he always knows what to expect. He walks into the room and sits in a chair, ready to work. If he gets distracted, she immediately stops and redirects him. I even find when I use the words (and sign for) 'work first' (like she does), at home, he will often give me what I am asking for. He is tolerating the drills really well. He is trying very hard to please, just not always able to produce the right sounds. I have to work at not just cracking up because there are times he will put his elbow on the table, chin in hand, tap fingers on his other hand on the table and just look at her like "what now lady". Such a ham.

I am working two different weddings this weekend, so will be a crazy, busy, tiring weekend for me.

August is here. I am sure I probably am not in the norm, but I am ready for school to start. Maybe I should say that I am ready for the routine and schedule. I am so not disciplined, in just about every area of my life, yet I thrive with a schedule. So, after much pondering, I woke up this morning with things in place for a schedule. Not a real rigid schedule. But my week planned out before it starts. Putting breakfast menu on paper, deciding what kid activities we are doing on which days, getting back to my weekday chore chart for myself. Doing the prep work the night before to make mornings smoother. Getting the kids on a set morning routine so none of the 'hurry up' yelling when school starts. (Some thrive on the hustle and bustle but I don't and our lives are really such that I have time to stop and smell the roses, alot, if I will just get disciplined.)
I am shooting for being in bed by 10pm. Last night I crawled into bed at 9:58 with hopes of getting great sleep to get up at 5am. Well, I forced myself to stay in bed last night until 11pm. I guess I was so excited (how weird is that) to have something in place, I could not wait for the day to start. So got back up and did some work until 1am. When the alarm went off, I was up and going! Now if I can keep from napping today bedtime should be easier tonight. My biggest time waster culprit...the computer - specifically the internet. Not big chunks of time, but 20 minutes here, 10 minutes googling this, 15 minutes there. It all adds up and quickly. I think the boys will do much better too! Time will tell.

Jbird continues to love his training wheel free bike. No more crashes! I had two major victories in the kitchen this past week. My kids FINALLY tried hamburger helper. I know it is not the best, but quick and easy. They finally tried it and liked it. They had it three days in a row. My oldest has always decided, even before seeing some food, if he likes it or not. Often if he comments negatively, then this quickly persuades Jbird not to 'like' something either. Then the biggest shocker, the oldest, finally tried oatmeal and it was a hit. Yeah, a hot, cheap, somewhat healthy (minus the brown sugar), quick breakfast. (Of course mom has a mental aversion to hot cereal (maybe it was the cream of wheat growing up?) but they have yet to figure that out.) I am so excited!!!

Since this week is operation schedule, next week will be operation food. Trying to simplify foods so that when Soccer, AWANA and cub scouts starts, our evenings, complete with homework, are much smoother and my attention is on the kids and not the kitchen.

My computer time is about up. Off to make bead bracelets with the older two while JB naps!