Don't text and, well, just don't text

Good friends of ours are coming to visit us this weekend. Dave was texting back and forth, and apparently Dave has no idea how to text responsibly. Or maybe too responsibly? I couldn't resist taking a picture of phone...

Wow. Seems like it will be quite the weekend!

You break my heart!

Yesterday, the kids had school registration. This includes finding out who their teachers are, their classmates, school pictures taken, the whole nine yards. Check out these kids... how cute are they? 

Max is so excited to be going to school. He wanted to play on the playground, but we didn't have time. I told him starting next month, he'd be able to play every day, three times a day, during recess. He was beaming! Nolan is excited because his best baseball bud, Elijah, is in his class with him. I'm little disappointed because Nolan doesn't have the same 3rd grade teacher Abby had, and I loved her. That's the year Abby had her bone infection, and her teacher couldn't have been any more helpful during that time. But, I'm assuming we'll like Nolan's teacher just as much. And Abby is excited that she got the teacher she was hoping for. By 5th grade, you generally know all the kids, and so it's just a matter of which friends she's in class with, and she has one or two really close friends in there with her, so she's happy. I can't believe that this was the last registration for her at this school... next year, off to middle school. Wow!

And then there's this little girl. How grown up is she with her new hairstyle? Apparently, she loved getting it cut so much that they also styled it, including hairspray! She is my diva for sure.

Last night, she wanted to sleep with Dave in our VIP Lounge (what others may call our spare or toy room). I told her no, and she started throwing a fit, so I left her and went downstairs. Pretty soon, she was coming downstairs, and with hand over her chest, declared, "You're breaking my heart, mommy!" I immediately thought I misunderstood, so said, "I'm breaking your heart?" And of course she responded, "Yes! You're breaking my heart. And Abby's heart. And No No's (Nolan's) heart. And Mae's (Max's) heart. And Daddy's heart. And Ray Ray's (Rayva's) heart. And Kimmy Jo's heart." Wow. That's a lot of heartbreak! After a few more conversations with Daddy, she came back and said, "I ok Mommy. My heart's all better." 

They clearly aren't my little babies anymore!

Fear Factor

The kids' favorite show, off and on, is Fear Factor. I can't stand it... Most of the things truly make me want to puke. But hey, for them, it's a great time! So, what better thing to do than have a Fear Factor competition at the lake with Alina? This one, maybe I could handle!

 I think those are... crickets in there?

 Wow! Even Abby stuck her hand in there. Ewww!

I am not exactly sure what Turd Herd is, but I'm really hoping it didn't come from Alina's cat!!

 Please tell me that's chocolate? Please??

 Go ahead, kids! Throw bugs at each other!

We also have jousting into what appears to be shark infested waters. Yikes! Abby is the victor!

And of course, the ever scary Stuff as many Saltines into your Mouth as you Can! Watch out, kids!!

Fortunately, everyone came home safe and sound, if a little bit worn out from the activities.

Fairy Girls

A couple of weeks ago, Alina took the girls, along with her niece Kimmie Jo, to a fairy event at Lammscapes, the local landscaping place. They got all decked up in fairy wings, prepared with a fairy tea party, and even planted a fairy garden. I'm not sure who had the most fun... the girls or Alina!?!

Fairy-sized tea cups and plates.

 Fairy-donuts...

 The fairies came for the party!

 This is Kimmie Jo. She is 4, and Ava loves her. Except I can never figure out who she is asking for because it sounds like "Tato?" I keep thinking she is asking for a potato. But really, it's Kimmie Jo!

 Abby was a fairy herder. Eventually she put her own wings on!

  Abby and Ava did a flower pot together...

 The final product.

 Hello, there, Alina!

 Fairy crossing!

 Everyone who dressed up. Hmmm, who might the Fairy Godmother be?

 And Max, enjoying the fairy treat with the fairy-sized fork!

Sock bun

Abby has a new hairdo that she wears most days. A girl I work with always had her hair in the perfect bun, so I asked her how she did it. It turns out, she uses a sock! It gives the hair good structure, and is so easy to do (even I can do it!). I think it looks pretty good!

Creekside Kids

There's not a lot of occasion for all the kids in the neighborhood to get dressed up, all at the same time. While the occasion was definitely a sad one (Joyce's funeral), the kids all looked great.

 

 

 No idea what she's doing here!!!

High purple

Last week, Max tested once again for a new belt... high purple. We went to Joyce's funeral in the afternoon, and Max's testing in the evening. He needed to be there around 5, but didn't test until after 7. By the time it was his turn, he was very unfocused and pretty antsy. That being said, he still passed, and I was happy to be able to watch his next class and see him awarded his High Purple belt. I believe he wants to take a little bit of a break for awhile, which is fine by me. I'd rather he take a break now, before he's really burned out and doesn't like it any more. But we'll see... today he said he wants to go next week. You never know with that kid!

Another new chapter

Some of you who have known me for awhile know that I am always searching for the perfect schedule, the perfect work, the perfect way to take care of these kids of mine. I have worked full-time at work with full-time daycare. I have worked full-time at home with part-time daycare. I have worked one day a week, I have worked five days a week. I have done daycare centers, in-home care and of course Alina. As you've seen through this blog (and will see this week as I post more of the stuff the kids have done!), Alina is awesome. She has done fun things with the kids, she has taken over my grocery shopping, she has been the extra pair of hands in the morning and especially during after school activities. She has been everything I hoped she would be when she started with us last November.

That being said, I wasn't at all prepared for how I would feel this year. As I worked more hours and saw less of the kids, I started to feel so disconnected. When I started to think about next year's school year, I realized I missed all of last year's school year. I just couldn't do that again. So on Monday, I told my boss that I needed to quit. Because, you know, in my mind it's all or nothing. After talking with her, she just looked at me and said, "Don't quit. How about part time?" Well, ok. Let's figure out how that works. I need to be off on Fridays, and I can work 9-3 Monday through Thursday. Done deal. She gave me that schedule, but also offered to let me work full-time, with time made up at other times.

It's ideal (I think). It's perfect (I hope). It will be really hard to say good-bye to Alina (although it helps that I know we will see her often, regardless!), but really what I need to do. That is, until I decide that I need something else!

(If you are reading this and work at DS, please keep this to yourself for now! Everyone at home knows, but I'm not really planning on widely communicating this there. If all goes well, no one will really know my hours, and I will continue to deliver without interruption!)

Busy weekend!

Despite colds running rampant through our house, we still packed as much as we could into this weekend. With the cooler weather today (love it!), it feels like summer is quickly coming to a close. That being said, we decided to take advantage. It started on Thursday when we had a final "coach's meeting" and had the people Dave coached with over. We had a great time, and were up until well past midnight. Thankfully, it just so happened that I had no meetings (NO MEETINGS!!) on Friday, so I took the day off. I was going to hang out at a friend's pool with the kids, but then Dave also decided he could take the day off. That never happens! So instead, headed to Noah's Ark for the day. I didn't bring my camera, but took some off my phone... of course, none in the water! The Bigs (including Max) went with Dave on all the rides, while I stayed with Ava. I will be sad when she is big enough to go on the rides... Maybe I can supervise from the bottom?

We got home pretty late on Friday, and scheduled for Saturday was my work picnic at the zoo. Usually we go right away when it opens, but because of the late night Thursday, the waterpark on Friday, the late night Friday and the colds, I let everyone sleep in. Nolan had baseball tryouts, so Dave took him there and I headed to the zoo with the others. We got there at about 11:40, got all of our tickets and headed out to the train, the carousel and the dinosaurs. Ava really wanted to see the lions so we took in the big cat house and then back to the company picnic grounds. They really do a good job... food, cotton candy, sno cones, drinks of all sorts, ice cream, nachos, crafts for the kids, cookie decorating, popcorn/carmel corn, you name it. You really don't have to even go out into the zoo. The cotton candy they can make in animal shapes. Of course Max got the elephant head!

Then today (Sunday), we headed to church and school supply shopping. Yikses! It always sounds like a good idea, and then reality sets in. Four kids, in Wal-Mart, in an aisle with a million other school supply shoppers. Ava, who wants everythink in the aisle and, barring that, wants to push the cart. Max, who has no idea how to sit still or not karate chop everything in his wake. Abby and Nolan bringing me items every two seconds, "Is this 3/4"?", "I can't find wide-ruled!", "What does this mean, 2 red?" And of course, it's not all in one aisle. You also need dixie cups, kleenex and Ziploc bags in one aisle, band-aids in the other, hand sanitizer in yet another. And then the check-out. Despite not needing backpacks, pencils, some glue sticks, erasers, pencil boxes and other odds and ends I rescued from last year, it still cost $200!!! And Max and Ava were minimal. I can only imagine when they all need all supplies, every year. Wow.

We made it home fine, and have been relaxing with the cool breeze all afternoon. Ahhhh. If fall means cool weather and nice breezes, I say bring it on.