School's Out! School's Out! School's Out!

It's hard to believe the school year is over! We have been very grateful for amazing teachers.


Olivia's graduation may have made me cry. Her teacher has been so incredible. She switched back to our local school from the accelerated program after Christmas, and it has proved to be the very best decision for her. If more teachers loved their job like this one, public education wouldn't be in trouble. He expects a lot from his students and makes learning fun at the same time. She came home almost daily excited about something new that she learned. It also helped to have a great friend in her class!



Sean's teacher was so sweet. The class nickname she gave him was "Handsome Devil".
Warren's class was participating in field day activities so I didn't get a picture with his teacher, but I did find this picture from Halloween. She has been great, too!
Our school sent teacher assignments for next year home with the kids on the last day of school. Usually the class lists are posted about a week before school starts, so this was something new. The kids are all thrilled about the teachers they got, and phone calls to friends were made. All of the kids have at least one good friend in their class, so there were smiles all around.
I met the kids at the bus stop to record their last moments of the school year.

In the near future we are planning a trip to Krispy Kreme to cash in on our report cards. They give one donut per 'A' (or the equivalent).

Happy Summer!!!

Nesting

This momma bird (me) is getting the nest ready for the upcoming arrival of Baby Bird. As I have been de-junking and cleaning, words of wisdom from my momma bird keep coming to mind.
1) By the inch it's a cinch, by the yard it's hard.
2) It has to get worse before it can get better. (This advice only applies when you ignore rule #1; you know, when the simple chore of maintaining turns into a project. This unfortunately was the case in my guest/toy/storage room and it has been very overwhelming. It is already much better--still not done, but I'm grateful to be past the "worst" part.)
3) "That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do. Not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do has increased."
These words of wisdom have helped me get through the yucky parts of the projects I have been tackling lately. And although it hasn't been fun, it has definitely been rewarding to see progress and know I'm capable of so much more than I sometimes give myself credit for. In addition to seeing progress, my sorting and organizing of the toy room also allowed the following conversation to take place.
David had just woken up from a nap. He found the bin of dress-ups (of both the Spiderman kind and the princess kind) and requested the Cinderella dress. He then completed the outfit with pink sparkly high heels and announced, "I'm a princess!"
Me: You better come give me a hug!
David: I love you, Mom
Me: I love you too, David
David: No! Say 'I love you too, princess!'
Me: I love you too, princess!
The Cinderella dress didn't stay on long, but the pink shoes stayed with him for the rest of the day. In fact, he wore them to Savanah's house to play Barbies. When he came back, a pink flower ring joined the pink sparkly shoes as a nice accessory.

Memoriable

"Memoriable": Something memorable that happens on Memorial Day. Jodi made up this word (accidentally) a couple of Memorial Days ago.

Here are some of our memoriable experiences from this year:

Saturday we got a phone call informing us that some Star Wars characters were visiting Costco. Darin took the older kids while I stayed home and nested and David napped.

Sunday we had Darin's mom over for dinner and we asked her to share some childhood memories with us. We laughed a lot and learned a lot of neat facts about Grandma. After dinner we went to my parents' house and played games. Then we talked about memories from our childhood and learned a few new facts about my parents.

Monday morning came earlier than we were ready for, but we eventually got everyone up and dressed to go hiking. (Darin went to wake Sean up and said, "It's time to wake up. Are you ready to go hiking, Buddy?" Sean sat up and said, "yeah" then his head hit the pillow again and he said, "Actually not so much.") Darin drove us to meet up with my family (he was still nursing an injured calf muscle so he took his mom to buy flowers for family grave sites while we were gone) and we started the journey to Bridal Veil Falls. The weather was gorgeous!!! It was such a beautiful walk. Here's the group before we set off:

We all made it to the falls (although I was REALLY feeling it the next day--it was still worth it)
Darin came to pick us up and we went with his mom to the cemetery to put flowers on some family graves.

Darin's mom joined us for my family barbecue in Alpine. We had fun eating and visiting, singing Happy Birthday to Michelle, and witnessing frosting wars between the teenagers. We were also reacquainted with Timmy. He is a CPR dummy that has been part of the family for several years and he freaks me out every time I see him. He is normally fully dressed and propped up in a human looking position. This was David's first time meeting him, and he wasn't quite sure about him. Rylee took him to see him and David grabbed on to Rylee's shirt for dear life. Timmy was moved to the trampoline and was the subject in many photos. Here he is sunbathing in a speedo and socks with the other bathing beauties:
And here is Timmy and Kamryn's engagement picture:
After the barbecue we headed to the swimming pool. The kids had a blast (well, most of them)! It felt nice to be in the water and let my muscles feel some relief from the walk earlier in the day. David absolutely hated the kid area with the falling water. He especially hated the giant bucket of water that tipped out, so we stayed far away. It took several "dumpings" for me to assure him that the water couldn't hit us from where we were. Every time the buzzer would go off indicating the bucket was about to tip, he ran to me and held on.

I think he must have some devastating memory about gushing water. He absolutely detests the car wash, too. Right before we left I went with him to the slide in the kid's area to try and help him get past his fears. I quickly realized that there was no way I would fit in the slide with him, so Rylee went to the bottom of the slide to catch him. Right then the pool check bell went off, and I had to act quickly...so showing my stellar parenting skills, I basically shoved him down the slide to Rylee, screaming the whole way. I had an immediate flashback to A Christmas Story, and could see the whole scene from David's point of view. I was Santa, shoving him down the tube yelling, "HO, HO, HO" and he was the wide-eyed boy. Basically, I'm an awesome mom, and it took me a good ten minutes to calm him down. He kept saying, "That was scary" and sobbing. I felt about this big (my fingers are very close together). When we left, he fell asleep in the van after eating a laffy taffy. After his nap he woke up and I put him in the tub (still very worried that I had made his fear of water even worse) and I talked to him again about the slide incident. He smiled and said, "You're not a mean mom". It was as if the angels put the very words in his mouth I needed to hear. If only I could be so quick to forgive. I guess I needed to get that out. Here are some photos of the other kids.

Apparently an entire day with cousins wasn't quite enough, so when my kids found out that Jodi's family was going to eat Chinese food they invited themselves (and Darin & I) to join them. We had a yummy dinner, then showered, got into pajamas and enjoyed a very relaxing evening after a very long day. It was memoriable, indeed!

A laundry adventure

I was washing sheets. One of David's "new shoes" (which weren't new at all, they were just called his "new shoes" and were his favorite) was missing. We looked everywhere. We knew it couldn't be far. He had just worn them as a pair, and suddenly there was only one. Then, as I was pulling my sheets out of the dryer, I found the missing shoe! I gave it to David and he excitedly put it on. That's when we realized there was a problem. See for yourself:

He tried and tried to squeeze his little heel into the beloved shoe. I'm sure he can really relate to Drizella and Anastasia. He REALLY wanted it to fit, but he finally gave up. I thought for a small moment about washing and drying the other shoe so we could pass them on to someone else as a pair, but then I decided that if I did it on purpose, I would probably cause an electrical fire. I have no idea how the shoe began its journey. It certainly wasn't on my bed when I took the sheets off. I am learning to ask fewer questions about "how in the world" things happen. It has helped my sanity to just deal with things as they come instead of obsessing about how they came about.

Camp Leaky-Leaky

Monday as we were eating Family Night treats I was enlightened as to some of the recent adventures that have been going on in our backyard. I'm not sure how it all came up, and I'm not sure it's been a blessing to know. Regardless, I want to write this one down for posterity. Someday it will be really funny to us all--I'm sure.

Apparently, some of the neighborhood friends have taken a liking to urinating in our backyard. They have even designated a special spot which they affectionately call "Camp Leaky-Leaky". One of the friends even laughed as he told Olivia that he had "missed the grass a few times and hit the house." What? After asking several times if my boys had been involved and them denying involvement several times I asked if there was anything else I should know. Bad choice. Warren said that one of his friends had peed ON THE TRAMP (ewww) and another had peed in our birdbath. It was a good thing that friends had gone home for the day. This way my kids were able to hear my ranting and the guilty parties were spared the heated speech about keeping certain body parts zipped up while outside. I understand that boys will be boys, and that it must be fun to pee outside (I don't have the equipment to do so I don't know from experience--maybe I'm just jealous). I also know that it may be difficult for boys to understand why it's o.k. to relieve themselves outside when they're camping and not o.k. to do so when they're not. However, my yard is not a toilet and I have not one, not two, but three bathrooms-all containing toilets-and all less than 30 seconds away from the out of doors.

As I fell asleep that night I thought about other things of concern that have been happening. Name calling, leaving bikes, scooters, shoes, and toys haphazardly strewn about our front and back yards, riding bikes through the landscaping, throwing dirt, etc. I have tried to address these issues on a case by case basis, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy having friends over. It is nice to know where my kids are, and I thought I was doing a good job of checking on them periodically. Not so much. I also thought about the fact that summer is right around the corner which will bring with it popsicle sticks and otter pop wrappers, towels for playing in the sprinklers, more kids than usual...and a new baby. I knew I had to take drastic measures and pull the reigns tight before it gets really out of hand. While the kids were at school yesterday I typed up a contract. It has 6 rules for respecting property (the first being the no urinating rule) and 4 rules for respecting others (which includes appropriate language, no name calling, including everyone, etc.). My kids were the first to sign. I told them that I expected them to abide by these rules wherever they went, not only at our house. As friends came to play I invited them in, sat down with them and rationally (I got the ranting out of my system the night before) explained each rule in detail. I also explained the consequences of not following the rules. Then I had them sign and date the contract. Olivia thinks the contract signing is silly and embarrassing. I told her she didn't have to sign, but that would mean she couldn't play in her own yard. She signed.

We'll see how it goes. I think I may have given Warren a complex. Last night he came downstairs from his bed and in a shaky, almost crying voice told me that he had "heard a police" and wondered if they had come to take his friend away for saying a bad word. It took me a while to convince him that the only people that could enforce the signed contracts were Darin and I (and only in our yard) and that his friend was sleeping safe and sound in his bed.

The signing of contracts may be silly, but I feel a whole lot better knowing that the kids are fully aware of what's expected (and seeing their faces when they were signing was actually a bit comical). The next step is to kindly enforce the rules, which in all actuality will be more work for me, but it will give me piece of mind that Camp Leaky-Leaky will be a thing of the past.

32

That's the number I will now put on any form that requires me to list my age...which is strange because I don't "feel" 32. The more birthdays I have the more I realize I probably won't ever feel different. I just feel like me...with one more year's worth of experience.

I had a great birthday! I got the kids off to school and had a normal-ish morning. At lunch time I had the privilege of dining with not one, but TWO handsome dates--Warren and David. After dropping Warren off for Kindergarten I headed to my massage, which was delightful as usual.

When I got home I found a sweet note from Darin and balloons on the floor, each with a different letter spelling out "Happy B-Day Deanne". The kids had fun finding out what the message was.

At this point I was feeling quite queasy from lunch. The good news is that burger and fries joints are on the list of places not to go for a (long) while. I rested on the couch and drank water to try to make the feeling go away. It didn't. Darin came home from work and asked if I was ready to go on a birthday adventure with the family. I wasn't. I felt bad because he had planned a fun evening, but I really didn't have it in me. The kids had fun playing with friends and I enjoyed the rest on the couch. When the queasy feeling had subsided enough we all enjoyed a yummy fajita dinner prepared by Darin. Then it was time to celebrate!

We had cupcakes and ice cream and opened presents.


Someone is noticeably absent from the pictures. David is in the stage where his naps/quiet time happen about 50% of the time. He came in from playing and I asked him if he wanted to have dinner and cupcakes and sing "Happy Birthday" (he sings it all the time--mostly to himself). He said 'yes', then while I was holding him on my lap I felt his head flop down. He was quickly on his way out. I asked again if he wanted to eat and sing. He replied, "I'm too tired." He spent the birthday celebration on the couch like this (you can tell he had been playing hard by the sweaty messed-up hair!):

The kids got me new yummy smelling shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath, and hair products (some of my favorite things). Darin surprised me with an awesome camera. I was so excited!!! I have been wanting to take a photography class for a long time. I caught the bug several years ago and wanted to improve my photography skills. We got a nice 35 mm camera, and my confidence diminished quickly when I had a few disappointing practice sessions. I double exposed one set (that made me REALLY sad), and the lighting was all wrong on another. I put my photography desire (and the nice camera) on the shelf. I obviously continued to take pictures, but it was mostly just for documenting purposes. Darin knows me well enough to know that deep down I still want to try to make photography a talent. Not that I want to make a career of it, I just want to be happy with the images I take. The camera he got came with two instructional DVDs, two lenses, and a lot of things that intimidate me. I will have to take baby steps to become well acquainted with this new toy! (These photos were taken with our old camera. The new one wasn't set up yet)

p.s. The crepe paper flower I'm wearing was a gift from Warren. He made it at school for Cinco de Mayo the day before.

We snagged a quick photo of David with the kids before taking him up to bed. He looks thrilled to be there, I know!

Thanks to everyone for making my birthday great! I felt very loved.

In the news

I like to be informed, but I have to be careful about how much time I spend watching the news. Too much exposure to disturbing things tends to get me down. Here are a couple of interesting stories I heard recently:

1) A woman in Germany decided it would be a good idea to jump the enclosure at the zoo and join the polar bears AT FEEDING TIME. The zookeepers had to hit the polar bears on the head repeatedly in order to get the woman out. More on the story here.

2) Following up on a complaint (about a serious stench) from neighbors, police found the remains of a (then) 95 year old woman in a cluttered bedroom. She had been dead for SIX years. Her 61 year-old daughter lived in the home with her and had not reported her mother missing because she "didn't have the money for a proper burial." The daughter had been collecting the mother's social securtiy checks; totalling more than $60,000. If you have a desire (or are still just shaking your head and don't believe me), you can see it here.

All news isn't bad. My kids' school was nominated as "Cool School of the Week" several weeks back, and Olivia got her 30 seconds of fame. Her class was asked to sing a song that her teacher made up about how laws are made. It was so fun to see her on TV.

If you have any other interesting news items to share, please do. I would hate to miss out on any real gems.

Yeth-ir-ee I'm Three!

It's true. I'm not sure how it happened, but my "baby" is three! When I ask him if he's my baby he says, "No. I'm your big boy. Your baby is in there (as he points to my belly)." It's comforting to know he won't feel like his place as baby has been taken when the new arrival comes. He is growing up so fast! He watches his older siblings and follows suit. He is a pro on his scooter. He even does tricks. He is becoming very independent, and keeps us laughing every day. As mentioned in the previous post, his birthday came while we were still in Park City. We didn't do much celebrating in Park City (we did eat off of special Arthur plates for our lunch). As we were getting in the car to head home to begin the celebration I asked him, "How old are you, buddy?" He replied, "I'm free." I told him to watch my mouth and said, "THree". Then he said...

He said it several times, so I was able to get it on video. (Sorry you have to tilt your head to watch.)

I was unsure how to celebrate his birthday. Leading up to his birthday I would ask him what he wanted for his birthday and he would say, "Dora cupcakes." He has never in his life watched an episode of Dora. His desire for Dora cupcakes came when we were buying half-birthday treats for Sean's school class and he saw the Dora cupcakes at the bakery. No matter how much we asked he wouldn't ever say what he wanted. In fact, the kids started giving suggestions and he would say, "I don't need those things!" and get a little angry. He finally said he would like some gumballs (he may be addicted to sugar). I was grateful that he would be easily pleased!

At home we had dinner, then opened presents. He wasn't ready to give up his face paint so we let him open presents as a tiger.

He got a dinosaur set, a puzzle, a kite, some keys, a bike, and gumballs.He kept his gumballs by his side all evening. He even slept with the bag of gumballs next to him.
I wanted to have some photos of him without face paint on, so I said we would do cake and ice cream after baths. Earlier in the day, a request for Thomas the Tank Engine to join the cupcakes came. (I think it was Sean that made the suggestion to David. David has some Thomas sunglasses that he was wearing, and Sean said, "How about Thomas cupcakes?") I wasn't about to pay $20 for bakery cupcakes so we improvised. We stopped at Partyland on the way home from Park City and I got some Dora stickers and some Thomas party blowers to put on the cupcakes. He was thrilled!

It was all very exciting!

Hmm... What should I wish for?

It was so fun watching him bask in the attention. How I love this little guy! He brings such a sweet and happy energy to our home.
Hey David. Know you what? I love you so much!

(He says, "Know you what?" frequently. He will come up to me and say, "Hey Mom, know you what?" and then proceed to tell me something very important. My very favorite was the time he said, "Hey Mom, know you what? (he had his hands behind his back) I...found...your....White silky!!! then revealed his white silky from behind his back)