Friday, May 31, 2013

Hello, Summer Break

 Lilyann...Start of Pre-K and Last Day of Pre-K
I don't think it's hit her yet that school is out for a few months. She does know that she is now a kindergartener, but she still thinks she's going to school tomorrow. I'm okay with it. We'll "play" school this summer for sure.

 My youngest, Leia, has transformed from the start of the school year to the last day of school. Walking, talking, feeding herself. Wow!! it's amazing the transformation. :)

 Dakota on his 1st day of 1st grade and then on the last day. He was more than thrilled that today was the last day of school. He also received A/B Honor Roll for the year. YAY!!! 


Here are the kids celebrating the end of school with ice cream from Burger King. They are running their 50 cents special right now. So, our celebration treat only cost $2.50. Dakota figured that out for us. 
While it might not be officially summer on the calendar, it's summer in our book.

Bring it on!! 
Just over 6 weeks til our Family vacation!!! Can't wait!!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day memories


On this Memorial Day weekend, numerous memories run through my head. I want to share traditions with my children to make them remember the importance of this holiday.
Dakota was talking with his daddy about what this holiday is all about. Dakota thinks it would be cool if those that fought for us could all come back and we could all have a carnival for them on Memorial Day. ♥ I love the way that kid thinks.

Lily is kind of grasping the meaning of Memorial Day. She kept asking today why all the flags were "short". It took me a second to understand that she was talking about the flags at half staff.
We talked a little about soldiers leaving their families to go and fight for our freedom (the choice to do what we want...go to church, drink a sweet tea, play with our brother and sister). That sometimes, these soldiers don't come home to their little girls and boys. Sometimes they die (and she asked if they go to Heaven in the clouds with God). They die so that we can be free. She really felt that it was sad that they died but she is happy that they are in the clouds with God. Then she was all happy about her sweet tea. I know she doesn't understand everything; but I feel she understands more than we think. 

Memorial Day for me not only reminds me about those who fought for our freedom and those that are still fighting for our freedom but also reminds me of family. Memorial Day was when my Dad didn't have to go work. He would fire up the grill. It was one of those older brick BBQ grills. I loved it. The time spent together as a family. When holidays roll around, it brings up memories of home and my family. I wish I could spend my time with them, but I know that now I have my own little family and we are making new memories here. When these memories come up, it gives me a teeny smidgen of how little kids deal with their daddies and mommies being overseas. I know, it's not comparable. But it makes me think of my friends with little ones now and they have to leave them to keep us safe.
Thank you ♥ We owe you everything.


This weekend, also brings the memories of celebration. Jed and I married each other 9 years ago on this holiday weekend. I can't believe it's been 9 years. Amazing that we haven't killed each other yet. He is truly a great man to put up with my antics ;) It's been 9 years of ups and downs. Apartment life. Buying a house and finding out the week we closed on the house, that we were going to parents. Having a baby. Going from 2 full time jobs to 1 full time job. Finally settling in as parents and Baby #2 arrives with a Congenital Heart Defect. Life going great. Hubby gets a new job. Parents of 2 is getting easier and then Baby #3 makes her debut. 
I think from now on, I won't talk about life being good and the parents finally managing with the kiddos...because it looks like another baby makes a debut...and we "ain't got time for that." Hahaha!!

I love my little family. I love my husband. I'm reminded each day how lucky I am to be married to him. He's one in a million and I'm glad he's mine. ♥ 

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

It's the little stuff that makes us thankful

 Lily's plant is growing!! She made this at school and brought it home. It was dirt for a bit. I really thought she had dumped the seed out with the most of dirt that I found in the backseat...I guess not. She's super excited.

 Lilyann making silly faces last night. We were waiting on the storm to move through. We only lost our satellite reception last night. We are blessed. The kids were a bit bummed that we didn't all sleep in Dakota's closet but I was so happy. The weather forecasted for our area was rather daunting. I'm glad we were over prepared and nothing happened besides rain, high winds, and typical storm weather. Our temperature did drop from 95 to 68 within a matter of minutes. That temperature dropped saved us. It would have been one fierce storm. My heart goes out to those hit by the storm on Monday in Oklahoma.

 The oldest and youngest are the best of friends. ♥ 

And one more, just because I'm a cool mom. Yes, I snapped a picture before helping out the dear child. I was enjoying my coffee and I hear "Mooooooommmmmmy!!!!" I go to investigate and come across this. I admit, I laughed. She's Miss Independent til she needs help from Mommy. And that's why I love her.

Monday, May 20, 2013

The moods and phases of children

 Two things I'm dealing with right now. Emotional exhausting for both.

Suddenly, the oldest doesn't want to go to school anymore. He hates school. He's done with school. I told him this morning if he could give me 5 good reasons why he didn't want to go to school, then he could stay home. (I was secretly hoping my plan didn't backfire) He came up with two.
  • He doesn't want to go to 2nd grade...going to school now means that he will finish 1st grade and then he HAS TO GO TO 2nd grade. There's no stopping it.
  • 2nd grade is SO hard and they have homework every night.
Finally my direct orders of "Get dressed, and teeth brushed or I'm picking you up and making you go to school in your pajamas" got him in the vehicle. He wasn't happy about it, either. I always drop him off with a "Love you, be good today". He responded today with "Quit Talking to me" Grrrr!! I hope he's not as hateful at school. As a mom, you just go with it. You know your kids will say things that just cut to the quick. Believe me, I've said things similar to my parents. I knew it hurt them but I didn't realize how much a simple phrase would throw you off track. 

As for the 2nd thing I'm dealing with...my Facebook status today sums it all up.

We've hit the "If you give me ____, I'll be your best friend" stage with Lily. Sadly, it's at the same time as the dreaded "NO" stage with Leia. Needless to say, neither child is amused with each other (and apparently, neither are best friends now). 
Well, Lily didn't get a chip from Leia but she did get an earful of NO's. I guess I need to teach Lily the value of friendship now...and to not give it up just for a perishable item ♥

Friday, May 17, 2013

Freeze Frame life

I never understood what adults meant when they said "Time flies, don't rush life." Of course, that was when I was a know-it-all teenager/college kid and I was in control of everything. I controlled how fast time flew. Who was going to tell me to stop and smell the roses?

Well, I've hit that stage. I'm the adult telling others that time flies. My babies are growing up and it finally hit me tonight. No, not when my Lily did my job of checking the mail. Not even when Dakota cleaned up the living room and offered to vacuum the floor for me. No, it was when Leia woke up just before midnight crying for a "dink". I carried her into the kitchen and got a cool drink. (a little background, she has been running a low grade fever all day. Medicine has been keeping it down for now. I think it's her teeth since she's not showing any other symptoms) I sit down on the couch with her and cuddle. She doesn't want that. Of course, she wants to be held while I'm standing up. Isn't that how most kids are?? They can sleep and calm down only if mommy or daddy is in the most uncomfortable position. So, I stood under the fan in the living room and rocked back and forth. It was magic and she was out. Then it hit me...do I put her back in her crib or do I hold her longer? She answered for me. Holding on tight to my shirt...sneaky baby :)  We snuggled longer and then it was off to bed for my last baby. Since she's the last baby for me, I'll savor each snuggle. Moments like these call for a Freeze Frame. ♥

Still on the subject of time flying. We are down to 2 weeks left of school. Soon, my 1st grader will be moving up. And my pre-K student will start kindergarten attending school all day. What will this momma do with the extra time and only 1 child all day?? I'm sure Leia will get the memo from the big kids to keep Momma busy all day :) 

And here's your funny for the day... Dakota woke up in a foul mood. And he decided that name calling was the way to go. The only thing he could come up with for Lily was.......................................................wait for it................................................................................................... Lily pad. A boring old Lily pad that just sits there. And that's exactly what he said. Wow! I can handle this kind of growing up. Mild mannered children will make for an easy life (for now) for this Momma ;)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Daily Lessons from the Kiddos

oh, these children of ours....Let me tell you all the fun stuff we have learned today.
First off...Lily's take on green lights and what she's learning at school:
Lily: "Mom, another green light. YAY! do you know why we get green lights, Mom?"
Me: "No, Lily, why?"
Lily: "We get green lights because we have good faces and good arms"
Next thing you know, we hit a red light. I asked her what that meant and she was still content with her green light answer. :)
~~~~~~ 
As for what she's learning in school...It's Ocean Week at school. All about the Ocean. Today, she was telling me (all wide eyed with excitement) that "Whales are as big as the hallway at school"  and "great white sharks aren't big like whales but they bite with their teeth and make your arms and legs make blood...it's scary, but your arm and leg will grow back, Mom."  
Wow!! thankfully, she's shy about large bodies of water still. 

Secondly, Dakota learned about "Want" and "Need" today.
"A want is something that you want. And a need is something that you need."  Deep, huh?! ;)  Jed went on to explain the difference between a want and need. 

Lastly, Jed and I decided to take the kids to the splash pad this evening. I told the kids when I picked them up from school that we were going to go somewhere special as soon as Dad gets home. They were somewhat excited and wanted to know to the secret place. I just told them that they would find out and let's get to cleaning the house. They picked up a bit...when Dad came home, they picked up everything quickly. So, off to the splash pad we went. They had lots of fun. We didn't stay for too long....wind accompanied the evening sun. Brrr! 
During the dinner, we talked with the kids about how much fun we ALL had tonight all because they chose to Obey. It was their choice to Obey and get rewards or Disobey and get nothing. (the rewards were splash pad, and ice cream sandwiches after dinner) Dakota really enjoyed this discussion and understood. Lily was just all about the ice cream Sandwich...that's all she got from our little conversation. And Leia...well, she can say "chocolate" as clear as day...hmmm!! she's a girl after my own heart ♥

Monday, May 13, 2013

Life happens FAST!


 I found this paper amongst Dakota's bring home papers. It's a BLT Paragraph Sandwich paper. Teaching him how to write paragraphs. It makes me happy that he uses topics about God. Kinda makes us, mom and dad, feel like we're doing something right. ♥  Every time I see different things like this, it makes me realize that my little boy is growing up. His thinking, his writing, his actions.....makes this momma proud. Times like this make up for the difficult times.

Who is this?? I remember when his feet dangled from the seat of this chair. Now, he's almost too big for his chair. But he's more than happy to pass it down to Leia.
Life happens fast.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day


Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mommies out there. It was a beautiful day. I couldn't have ask for anything more (I wonder if I should really put that in print??!?! lol) The children were somewhat behaved. I was greeted with a cute Mother's Day card thanking me for "being their ringleader" :) in addition to some wonderful chocolate. Mmmmm! 
I can't thank my husband enough for giving me a relaxing weekend. Oh! the kids bickered and fought....I spent part of Saturday with a fierce headache...but He stepped up and still gave me a wonderful weekend. I think I only changed maybe 2 diapers this weekend (YAY!!) Jed cooked dinner on the grill, cleaned out the utility room, swept floors, let me nap uninterrupted, tackled everyday problems with the kiddos...yeah!! he's pretty amazing.

yes, it was a good weekend.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Summer's coming


I can see summer! Can you?
Kids are starting to get into that the rut of mischief. They know that school will soon be over.
With the cool mornings, we've taken advantage of the riding bikes, playing outside, and taking in nature. Allergies have almost knocked me flat on my rear, so the hammock (though, probably covered in pollen) is my friend right now. I can be outside with the kiddos while they play and still relax..well, that's til they decide to hop on there with me. 
Kids...hmmmm.

3 more weeks of school and this momma's gonna need LOTS of hammock time. But Leia will thoroughly enjoy having her brother and sister home all day. ♥

Monday, May 6, 2013

Vocal, teeth, and school

Here we are...a new week and less than 4 weeks until Summer break for the big kids. Lord, help me!

Leia has become slightly vocal lately. Her favorite vocalizing actions are "NO" and screeching. Have I told y'all how much she has grown up in the past few weeks? All too fast. She can feed herself (and tries to feed others); she is a fabulous mess maker who has almost learned how to get out of her crib. And she has figured out door handles. Thankfully, she can't turn a door knob yet..thankfully.

We have another milestone met with by the middle child. Lily lost her 1st tooth. This was the official 1st tooth lost. She hasn't had her 2 front teeth for 2 years now because she fell and knocked them out way back when. So, needless to say, she is thrilled. The tooth fairy visited and left a dollar. I have pictures to share but I can't figure out why they won't load right now.

Dakota is doing testing for different subjects. The next two days, he is doing his Math test. We went over a little bit of what he missed on the last test and he feels pretty confident that he will do his best today.

I haven't blogged lately, so for those who don't follow me via Facebook, Dakota's room is finished. I even got the girls' room organized last week. Seasonal allergies really knocked me on my rear last week. Thankfully, they are doing better.