Birthday Girl!

 
The tale of our birthday girl really started last night -- or rather yesterday morning.  Before school started for little miss Kindergarten, I took Jane {and Alex} with me to Old Navy to let her help pick out some new clothes for back-to-school and her birthday.  As the last week of getting dressed for school has gone by, I've noticed and come to the conclusion that all of her clothes are REALLY shabby.  And stained and worn and (in some cases) falling apart.  I guess that's what happens when you're the third girl in a row to wear something!  Hahaha.  Needless to say, a few new things were in order for my cute little Kindergarten girl.  

She FELL IN LOVE with this polka-dotted peplum top and these leggings at Old Navy yesterday, and when I went to check on her last night before going to bed, I saw that she had carefully laid them out over the railing of her bed. Which is where she put things these days because she's super freaked out that ants will crawl over them if she lays the clothes out on the floor.  Hahahaha.

I was a little worried that today would be a bust for her because we weren't planning on doing a full shebang birthday celebration until her friend party in a couple of weeks.  {Which I haven't technically started planning yet.}  When she woke up this morning, I soon found out that she was fully expecting to be able to open her presents and have us sing happy birthday to her before the day was out.

I managed to appease her once the older kids were off to school by taking her to Target and letting Alex pick out a present for her and giving her the go-ahead to get some candy while we were at the check-out as well.  It sufficed!  Hahaha.

About halfway through the afternoon, I made the executive decision to make the most of her birthday day, and decided it would be easiest (and possibly funnest) to go out to eat for dinner.   Panera seemed like a great choice and it would even allow for her to get a cupcake so we could sing to her at the end.

It was only the funnest option in theory.  In actuality, EVERYONE was a little out of sorts this afternoon/evening thanks to late nights all around, and the drive TO Panera featured a knock-down-drag-out-fight amongst certain older children in the back seat and our ARRIVAL at the restaurant was not much better.  I think that hunger and fatigue are the worst possible combination of being for my children.  Once food was being shoveled into faces, everyone was MUCH more pleasant and in the end, I think everyone was glad we went.  Especially after I let them all pick out a treat with Jane's cupcake as well.

She came home from school with this cute little birthday crown from her teacher.

Mac and Cheese!  Her favorite.  :)

Once we were home, we lit some candles, sang to the birthday girl, and gave her the present "Alex" picked out at the store this morning.  All she's been wanting for her birthday for months now is an Elsa doll.  Hopefully this miniature one will be enough to make her happy until her "real" party.  :)

And that is a wrap! I can't decide yet if I'm thanking goodness that tomorrow is Friday or not.  Time {and the kids' weekend behavior} will tell.  Hahahahaha.  Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow.  :)

Just Call Me Daisy

Well folks, I don't know WHAT in the world I've gotten myself into.  Apparently, I decided to step up and volunteer last night to be the leader for Jane's Daisy Troop in Girl Scouts.  Forget about the fact that I have no idea what I'm doing, there's just something about a lack of organization and no other immediate volunteers speaking up that causes me to feel like I'm jumping out of my skin until I fill in the gaps of silence and non-committment and take things over myself.  Wait -- does that make me sound like a stereotypical, control-freak, type-A personality-ed, firstborn???  Hahahaha.  Yeah.  I guess it kind of does.

I took Sophie and Jane with me to the school last night for a meeting of all the girls and parents interested in Girl Scouts.  Grace and Sophie both participated in Girl Scouts when we lived in St. Louis, but when we moved here last year, neither girl seemed super insistent about joining, so we ended up taking a break.  I would probably have been fine if we were done for good, but Jane really wanted to do it and Sophie thought it sounded fun as well.  So we went to the meeting.  And I ended up volunteering to lead Jane's troop. 

To be quite honest, I'm actually really excited for Jane to be a Daisy.  When Grace started the program in Kindergarten, she ended up being in the same troop of girls for the three years we were in St. Louis.  And it was AWESOME for her.  They were all such GOOD girls and I was so happy for Grace that she was able to have a group of friends to do things with and have fun together.  And on the flip side for ME, I really liked all of the moms of the girls and enjoyed seeing them at the various activities we did, too.  Win, win -- right??  Hahaha.  So, even though I feel like I'm in WAY over my head with trying to figure everything out as far as paperwork and forms go, I'm really hoping that this will be a great experience for both of us as we get to know the girls (and the moms) in her troop. 

Now if only I would have been able to pay attention to Sophie's grade, too.  I'm still not sure what troop she's supposed to be in or who was organizing the second graders.  Hopefully, I'll be able to figure that out before she loses interest.  Or perhaps it would just make things easier for me if she lost interest all together.  Hahahaha.  Wish us luck!

Irony

I don't know what's more ironic -- me having a mental breakdown this morning when Sophie and her sprained foot threatened to ruin my plans for the day (right after filling out Ethan's "All About Me" sheet and jotting down that my number one goal for him this year was to learn to be more flexible); or Ethan ending up in the ER this evening after complaining LAST night that it was no fair that SOPHIE got to go. 

Oh wait, do I need to back up a little bit??  Hahaha.  I think I do.  For those who haven't heard yet, Sophie fell off of Grace's piggy back yesterday evening and landed on her foot wrong.  After MUCH weeping and wailing and dramatical hysterics (most likely spurred by her overly tired and emotional state of being), Scott decided to take her into the ER to make sure it wasn't broken.  We thought it was probably for the best since she wasn't able to move it without shrieking in pain, it was definitely swelling up, and she said she couldn't seem to straighten it out all the way.

I bet you can't even tell which foot it is, can you.  Neither can I.  Hahaha.

Of course, by the time they got there, Sophie had sucked it up and stopped crying and after charming her way through the ER staff,  they were on their way home with a clean x-ray and a foot sprain diagnosis.  Because they got back home rather late, it was no surprise at all when Sophie woke up this morning in a terrible mood and refused to go to school because her foot was still hurting and she couldn't walk on it at all.  After the aforementioned mini-breakdown, I called Scott who helped talk me off the metaphorical ledge and then passed the phone to Sophie, who he calmed down as well and finally convinced to go to school.

Once there, the school nurse convinced her she just needed to walk on it slowly and carefully and from then on she seemed totally fine.  I was able go about my daily schedule exactly how I wanted and was prepped and ready when the kids came home from school.  Everyone was in a delightfully pleasant mood when they got off the bus, and other than Ethan complaining about a headache, they all settled into their usual after school free time activities without any problems.

Fast forward about 15 minutes and all of sudden Ethan was FREAKING out about his head hurting, and screaming and crying and writhing around in pain.  It was crazy.  I had him go lay down in his room where it was quieter and darker and cooler, and told him to drink some water because it seemed like he was probably dehydrated thanks to the extra hot weather and humidity we've been experiencing the last few days, but that didn't help very much.  And I couldn't find any children's motrin or tylenol, either.  Well, the next thing I know, he started freaking out even more because he felt like he was going to throw up.  Throw up he did, and at that point I was getting more than a little concerned.  After calling the doctor to see what they thought, we were instructed to get him to the Children's Hospital ER to have him checked out in case something more serious was going on.  

Check out HIS charm.  Hahahahaha.  J/K.  This face is a result of him seeing me get the phone out to take a picture.

He was already feeling a little bit better after the throwing up episode, but the nurse still thought it was better to be safe than sorry, so after pushing some more water on him and getting him some children's tylenol we headed on our way.  Much to Ethan's dismay.  By the time we got there he was already feeling practically back to normal, so it seemed like yet another waste of a hospital trip, but at least they forwarded us from the ER to the Urgent Care, and we were able to see a doctor pretty quickly who examined him and agreed that it was better that we had come in than not.  Since headaches and migraines are present in our family medical history, he said that it's quite possible that Ethan might have problems with it as well.  Of course, he also agreed that it could just be an isolated incident of dehydration, but now at least we know what to keep an eye out for.

So, that was our last 24 hours!  Never a dull moment, right???  Now if only Lover Boy would go to bed!  I guess that 3 hour nap he took today {which was delightful for me at the time} was probably not the best call for this evening's bedtime routine. Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful than today!  Thank you and good night!!!

Almost There

One more week until it's time to Boom Shakalaka!  Hahaha.  Last night I ran my last {tapered} long run with my running buddy, Rachel, and I'm getting really excited for the actual race.  Mostly because I have ZERO expectations.  Always the best way to go for me personally.  :)

But seriously, though.  This race should be interesting.  For one thing, I still feel like it's a super last minute race even though I've put in a complete training schedule to get ready for it.  For another thing, it doesn't start until 7 o'clock AT NIGHT.  At the end of August.  And it's the inaugural run.  And because it's a looped course of about 3.25 miles, we'll be doing 4 laps before we cross the finish line.  All in all, it has the potential for greatness or disaster.  Either way, I'm pumped.  :)

And, as a sidenote, since I did my long run last night versus early this morning (which is when we typically run), I was able to stick around and help Scott force the kids to do Saturday chores.  Which is basically THE WORST.  I think it took Ethan about 2 1/2 hours to finally just FINISH cleaning his room {I'm doubting he did the bathroom like he was supposed to} and cleaning JANE'S side of the room took about 3.  And that was with me helping her about half way in.  So basically, the weekends around here are rough! Between getting kids to clean, dealing with sleep-deprivation fall-out from Friday night Movie Night, and constantly trying to kick kids off electronics, it is an uphill battle from start to finish.  One of these days we're really going to get things under control...

 We tried the "tape down the middle of the room" strategy for getting Sophie and Jane to clean this morning.  Sophie knocked it out of the park.  Jane, as you can see, wasn't all that interested in doing anything.  

Oh Jane.

And the Other Shoe Has Dropped

This morning it all caught up to us.  Certain children didn't fall asleep until way too late last night, and as a result we had a few trips to crazy town this morning before school.  Thankfully, they all made it to the bus, even if it did look a bit iffy at times.

The big catalyst for Grace's mega-meltdown?  Wanting to bring her iPod on the bus to have something to play with so she wasn't bored.  After I told her no, it was bad news bears for a while.  The only good thing to come out of this morning's antics was my renewed resolve to finally sit down and do some thinking and researching and praying to figure out what exactly our new Family Rules should be for electronics now that Ethan and Grace both have their own personal devices.

Over the weekend, I had a stroke of inspiration with the idea of using a permit vs. license analogy for them to use with their iPods.  Ethan in particular REALLY hates this idea, but I think it's fantastic.  In theory.  It's the actuality that's been hard to enforce, since we're kind of figuring things out as we go along with this whole personal electronic device thing.  But like I said, this morning was the final push I needed to just sit down and write out some rules.

After doing lots and lots of reading, I finally put pen to paper to come up with OUR family rules, and as I did so, the first thing that came to my mind was from the 13th Article of Faith -- "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praise-worthy, we seek after these things."  Immediately, I felt peace.  THIS sentiment is precisely what should govern the use of electronics in our house.  After jotting down this foundational piece, the bullet points came to me fairly quickly and I was able to give Scott a call and go over it with him and get his input before Alex woke up from his nap and the kids got home from school.  And then -- since I'm on SUCH a roll of making posters -- I was able to whip these puppies up while the kids were enjoying their "free time."  Hahahaha.

The initial reaction from Ethan at least was to try and rip them up because he hates almost every rule on them.  But after having a little chat with him tonight when the others were in bed, I think he is finally accepting of the fact that we're not just coming up with arbitrary rules to make his life miserable -- we are trying to keep them safe and protect them and TEACH them how to use technology (and our time) wisely. 

And that is that!  Hopefully, the early bedtime that everyone earned tonight will result in much happier spirits in the morning.  :)  Thank you and goodnight!

Sophie's turn for breathing problems!  Yay!  Hahaha.  Poor little lamb got off the bus this afternoon with a beet red face and crying that she was having a hard time breathing.  After eating a snack, taking some Claritin, and doing a breathing treatment, she was good to go.  Thank goodness!

Success?

The second day of school was almost as exciting as the first!  Everyone was up on time, everyone made lunches and ate breakfast, and everyone made it to the bus without any hiccups.  A successful day indeed.  And then when you throw in the fact that I had time this afternoon to finish the mountain of school paperwork for all four kids PLUS finish off the Tuesdays in my big book of crossword puzzles -- well, that my friends, is called livin' the dream!  Hahahaha.

Our "Daily Schedule."  I'm hoping that by having it posted somewhere visible, they'll be more likely to actually accept it and follow it.  A girl can always dream, right?  Haha.

 

Another poster that has actually been quite helpful in getting the kids to pack an actual, real lunch each day.  None of them are very good about getting in the veggies, but we're making huge progress from last year, so I'll take it.

All in all, I'm cautiously optimistic that this year is off to a good start!  Granted we haven't even finished the first week, but I can already see the difference it makes for the kids to be back in a structured routine.  And it's a GOOD thing.  :) 

Day Two Will Be the REAL Test

The first day of school is almost always exciting enough to elicit complete cooperation from everyone!  Day Two on the other hand -- well, let's just say I hope we don't have a repeat of last year.  Hahaha.

 

{Contrary to the looks of things up there, Ethan was only play-fighting with Sophie.  I was very grateful it didn't escalate to real fighting.}

Highlights and Lowlights of the day include:

*  Making it to the bus with more than enough time to spare!
*  Children mostly cooperating for first day of school pictures!
*  Lunches being packed according to our "Choose Your Plate" guidelines!
*  Scripture Time being accomplished in record time without any resistance!
*  Scott showing up mid-day to finish his workday from home!
*  Everyone having a great first day at school!
*  Grace announcing that her teacher won't be giving them very much homework this year and never on the weekends!!!
*  Having enough peace and quiet in the afternoon for Alex to actually take a nap!  And for me to actually be able to study my scriptures!  And call a friend!  And make an afternoon snack for the kids!
*  Having to wake up a lot earlier than I would like.  :(
*  Hearing Jane coughing and wheezing up a storm and needing multiple breathing treatments throughout the day.  :(
*  Listening to Alex fuss and whine all day long because he wasn't feeling well and woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
*  Worrying that his cough is sounding VERY asthmatic the last couple of days.  :(  :(

Thankfully, as you can see, the highs clearly outweigh the lows and overall it was a good day.  :)  TOMORROW will be the real test, however, as the excitement of the starting school year already starts to wane.  Hahaha.  I'll leave you tonight with a photo essay of our morning.  {And by photo essay, I mean absolute photo dump.}  Enjoy!

 You would think that they were watching something super sobering and important based on all their expressions...

 But they're not.

 Ethan needed to share a "Studio C" sketch with them.  It's what he lives, breathes, and quotes all the live long day -- in case you were wondering.

 Avenger dude put on his back to school shirt over his jammies last night after I had put him to bed.  I laughed out loud when I went to check on him before going to bed and saw what he had done.  

 Hahahahahaha

 Oh "Studio C"...

 What would we do without you?

 In case you were wondering, they can't take a group shot to save their lives.

 Ethan the Pure-Hearted

 6th Grader Extraordinaire!

 Grace the Tender-Hearted

 4th Grader Extraordinaire!

 Sophie the Lion-Hearted

 2nd Grader Extraordinaire!

 Jane the Sweetheart

 Kindergartener Extraordinaire!

 {She gets an extra shot because it's her first day of Kindergarten.}

 Alexander the Brave-Hearted

 Preschooler Extraordinaire!

 Spooooooky!  The fog this morning was CRAZY.  It was so thick it was bothering my eyes and making them water.

 To the Bus Stop!

 Jane and her neighbor friend, Katelynn, waiting to get on their afternoon Kindergarten bus.

Cute little girlie bug.  :)

'Twas the Night Before School Started

Sometimes it's really hard being me.  Okay, scratch that -- it's kind of hard being me ALL the time.  You see, I have this tendency to have very specific ideas in mind, and when things don't play out the way I've envisioned them, I get really frustrated.  Apparently, I'm kind of an intense person.  Hahahaha.

Today was a packed day.  Aside from all the little last minute things that needed to be done for school tomorrow -- you know, like doing laundry, making bread, and cleaning up -- I also needed to squeeze in a 5 mile run, a haircut for Ethan, a trip to the grocery store, Open House at the school to drop off school supplies, and finally, all the prep for our Back to School Feast and Family Home Evening tonight. 

I was moving full steam ahead the whole day long until the Open House hit in the afternoon, and then things started to fall apart.  At least for me.  We ended up getting home a lot later than expected, and I didn't even START throwing together our Back to School Feast until the time we should have been starting to eat. This shouldn't have been that big a deal, but I was just aggravated and annoyed all over again that the Open House had cut into our last-night-before-school-family-time, and things just weren't going according to plan!

 In her classroom! (Ignore the weird pose.)

With Scott's help, and some of the kids, we finally got everything ready to go with our feast, and feast away we did!  We had hamburgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob and watermelon, chips with dip, and an attempt at specialty drinks {that didn't quite pan out} in the form of Brazilian limeade and regular old lemonade. 

The food was eaten in far less time than it took to prepare it, and then the kids were off to try on their first day of school outfits to show Scott since he'll already be at work when they leave for school in the morning.  After changing back and carefully laying out their new clothes for tomorrow, we were finally able to move on to Family Home Evening where I introduced a last-minute-flash-of-inspiration theme/motto for the new school year and then moved on to father's blessings for the kids.

I was annoyed once again to discover that the battery pack was dead on my real camera!!!  Aaaahhh.  At least I found that out tonight and not tomorrow morning while trying to take first day of school pictures!  These cell phone pics are not the best, but they'll just have to do.  Here is Ethan demonstrating "How to Photo Bomb 101."

 

 

 

 

 Ummmm.  How hilarious is Alex's unprompted pose up there??  Hahahahaha.

THEN it was off to bed!  I'm tired.  Tomorrow is going to dawn bright and EARLY, so I'm going to sign off for now.  Wish us luck for tomorrow!

 "Hold to the Rod"

 (Family Motto for the 2014-2015 School Year.  Inspired by the second verse of our hymn for Scripture Time this month -- "As Zion's Youth in Latter Days" -- where it says, "with faith, we hold the iron rod and find in this our joy."   And from another hymn,

 "the iron rod is the word of God -- 'twill safely guide us through.")