Friday Night Fights

Friday evening Ethan had his second cross country meet of the season.  Even though it was also Jane's birthday, I really wanted to make it a full family affair and make everyone turn out to support him in the race.  In retrospect, it might not have been the BEST timing to try and make fetch happen.  Hahaha.  

Ethan took the bus with his team right after school and we joined him for the start, along with hundreds of other people.  This was one HUGE invitational meet. Unfortunately, certain children were not super stoked to be going, and they certainly let us know it.  I, on the other hand, was really excited to be there and couldn't wait to see him run.  I think that all of the kids actually enjoyed seeing the finishers as they came in, but other than that brief 5 minute window of watching and waiting for Ethan to come through, the only highlight for them, was getting a Kona Ice before we left.  

By the time we got home, it wasn't all that late, but Jane was already deteriorating and refusing to go to bed because it was her birthday!  And she never got a chance to play with the brand new game she picked out with her birthday money that afternoon!  And then the night just continued to go downhill as we realized the game needed C batteries -- which we didn't have -- and then Grace started clamoring for a movie night because it was Friday and they never got screen time because they had to go to the "stupid meet" that she never even wanted to go to anyway, and everyone was just overtired and overly wound up.  It was great.  Scott ran to Walgreens for the batteries to avert that crisis, while I tried to convince Grace that there was NO WAY a movie night was happening that late in the evening.  Once the batteries were in place, the next 20 or so minutes were spent fighting over the "Go Fishing" game that Jane had picked out and which EVERYONE ELSE really wished was theirs.  It was epically amazing.  I cannot even BELIEVE how much contention was brought out with the playing of that game.

Once we finally got Alex and Jane in bed -- a good 2 hours past their bedtime -- the next natural disaster to diffuse was Tropical Storm Grace, who would not let Movie Night die.  Those kids.  They just can't handle life when they're overtired.  And I think being back in school and all that it entails, has really drained them more than they recognize.  After another hour or so, we finally got the older three in bed with the promise that we'd do Movie Night on Saturday instead.  And THAT was our Friday night!  Hahahaha.  I'd like to say that the rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and rejuvenating, but I don't think this family knows how to do those things.  Stay tuned for the highlight of the weekend, when we celebrated Jane's birthday for real, on Saturday afternoon. 

My Darling, My Dear

Jane is 6!  And even though it's not a "friend party" year, and we won't even be "celebrating" as a family until tomorrow, I couldn't let the day go by with taking some pictures and reflecting on this little jewel who has come into our lives.  :)

In honor of her 6th birthday, here are 6 things I love about Jane:

1.  She LOVES rainbows

2.  She has star-gazing amazing eyes

3.  She has a tender and sweet little heart

4.  Her giggle is just about the cutest, most infectious thing I've ever heard

5.  We're half birthday twins

6.  She has an artist's soul

And there you have it!  I'm so glad this little moonbeam is in our family.  :)

{Read all about her beginnings here...}

Rainbows and Moonbeams

Meet Jane.  The embodiment of the riddle: "How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?"  Hahaha.  This child is equal parts exasperating and endearing, and this morning was precisely a case in point.  Despite being one of the first kids awake, she still almost missed the bus because she couldn't focus her attention on the important things for the morning, such as getting dressed for the day and packing her lunch. Or eating anything real for breakfast.  Here's a snippet from a text to Scott this morning:

ME: She won't stop working on her birthday list activities (she's sharpening pencils right now and getting construction paper ready for the rainbows), she won't get dressed or make her lunch, and is claiming she doesn't want to go to school because she's "sick."

{Her response to me telling her to go and get dressed}

I finally managed to get her moving and on track for school, but in the end she was still super late.  She made the bus, but BARELY, and the bus driver actually stopped in front of the house to let her on when she saw us coming out the door!  Hahaha.  The reason she couldn't make it to the stop with Grace and Sophie?  She needed a bowl of noodles with butter and parmesan before she left, of course.  Hey, but at least she's got craft supplies organized for her birthday celebration this weekend!  Hahaha.

Last night, I found Jane's itinerary for her birthday celebration:

1. craft

2. bag puppets

3. make a rainbow

4. paint

5. banner

6. make a cow {???}

7. pool

8. make a dog {???}

9. eat cake

10. open presents

Craft supplies at the ready!

It's hard to believe our little Rainbow Brite is going to be 6 in just a couple of days.  She is one of kind!  :) 

Tasting the Rainbow -- we have officially resorted to bribing Jane to sleep through the night.   She requested skittles as her sleep training treat.  Hahaha.  But you know what??  It's working!  At least so far.  The first night she made it until a little after 4 before coming in our room (for which she earned 4 skittles), and last night she made it all the way until quarter to 5!  Scott and I both agreed that was worth 5 skittles.  Hahaha.  Here's to hoping that she'll soon be making it until 6 or 7 before waking up for the day! 

Object Lesson Time

So this weekend was rough.  Mentally and physically.  I've been sick with a sore throat and cough the last few days, and aside from that, I'm in almost constant pain from this pregnancy with my ribs.  When you throw in the fact that Jane is STILL waking up multiple times on a nightly basis, it may be understandable as to why I reached a breaking point on Saturday afternoon and lost it with the kids.

Because -- quite frankly -- they just don't seem to get it!  A little help pitched in here and there would be amazing.   And even if all they did was NOT fight or freak out or give me attitude, I would take that alongside a messy house any day {and every day!} and call it good!  Hahaha.  Anyway, when I snapped on Saturday and broke down crying to all of them, I decided that perhaps it was time to bring out the pregnancy object lesson.  For the last couple of pregnancies, I've gotten so tired by the end of having to do so much around the house without kids realizing how difficult it was to do with my pregnant belly, that I've made each of them carry around a backpack (over their bellies) filled with heavy objects, in order to get a feel for what it's like to have to bend over and pick stuff up all over the floor with such a cumbersome load in front.  It's always been a hit.  Hahaha.

Everyone had their turn {even Ethan who forbade me from taking any pictures of it}, and even though I'm not sure how much it really, truly sunk in, I do feel like they're thinking about me and my condition a little bit more than they were before.  In fact, last night was the first night I've gone almost cough-free in several nights, and when I came to find out this afternoon that Ethan prayed for me last night that I could stop coughing, it was easily the sweetest and most heart-warming thing I've heard all day.  *Single tear*  

 I'm feeling a little better today, and I'm hopeful that by the end of the week I will have kicked this cough to the curb.  And as for the rest of the pregnancy aches and pains, here's to hoping that the next 11 weeks (or less) FLY by! 

 

{And a little light-hearted, comic relief to end on.  Grace has discovered the joy of press on nails.  Hahahaha.  I remember shopping for these at Walgreens with my sisters when we were growing up, and LOVING them.  Although, I will say that these look a whole lot more "real" than the ones we bought.  :) }

First Day Jitters

It was a good day!!!  Despite the fact that Jane was awake at 3 and Scott had to go and lay down with her to to get her back to sleep {falling asleep there himself for an uncomfortable couple of hours} and ETHAN was so anxious about waking up late that he woke up at 5:30 instead the determined 5:45 {waking Jane up for good while he was clomping around downstairs before 6}, everyone was excited enough to pull it together and get themselves ready with plenty of time to spare.  :)  I still can't get over the fact that it's DARK outside when Ethan will be catching the bus, but hopefully we'll be able to get into the swing of things here soon.  Needless to say, his first day of school pics are on the dark and grainy side.  Hahaha.

Ethan -- 7th Grade

After Ethan was off, it was time to focus on getting the rest of the girlie bugs up and ready to go, too.  Breakfast was eaten and lunches were packed and Scripture Time was completed with PLENTY of time to spare for a full on "first day of school photo shoot." 

Classic Jane face right there.  Hahahaha.

My favorite shot of the morning.  :)

Or perhaps THIS is my favorite.  :)

Jane -- 1st Grade

She wanted a shot with her backpack.

Grace -- 5th Grade

Her "signature pose."  According to Grace.  Hahahaha.

Isn't she lovely?  :)

Sophie -- 3rd Grade

How cute is her back-to-school ensemble??  She was dead set on wearing this knit moto jacket even though it's not exactly fall yet.  I can't say I blame her.  :)  If I could find one in my size, I'd totally buy one for myself.

I love this one because I love her little smile.  And also, because it showcases the earrings she picked out for the big day.

Cutie pie little Jane

I was really so worried that Jane was going to be a zombie all day long after her minimal amount of sleep.  

Alex -- Pre-K {starting in a couple of weeks}

How cute is this picture my neighbor snapped of Jane and her friend walking to the bus while holding hands??

And they're off!!!

I have to admit it was a little weird not having the kids around, and -- as predicted -- I had to deal with Alex proclaiming there was nothing to do all day long, while wanting to know when the big kids would get home.  The happiest part of HIS day was when they all got home off the bus.  :)

I went with a special after school treat of chocolate chip cookies for the first-day-of-schoolers, and I loved seeing how excited everyone was to tell me all about their day.  Even Ethan!  Who is not always the chattiest of sorts about things like this.  Haha.  Everyone had a great day, and the afternoon and evening continued on in the same vein, with the most pleasant dinner experience we've had in a long, LONG time.  Apparently absence DOES make the heart grow fonder.  :)  Let's hope tomorrow has the same effect.  

Recipe courtesy of  Daily Rebecca. I googled "best vegan chocolate chip cookies," and this was the first link.  I wanted to go with something that Sophie could have, too, which is why I went the vegan route -- no eggs or dairy.  The only changes to the recipe I made were to substitute Earth Balance buttery sticks for the coconut oil {Sophie's allergic to coconut}, and soy milk for the almond milk {Sophie is also allergic to nuts}.  Of course, all of this extra effort was for naught, because Sophie wouldn't even try them.  DOH!  She's always so worried that something will cause a reaction, that she's very hesitant to try new things.  Which is why I typically don't even bother to make Sophie-safe specialty items. Oh well!  Live and learn.  Again.  At least everyone else ate them and seemed to like them just fine!