Charley's orchestra finale....

sneak peek at where we were last night....

Charley's orchestra concert.  This is the finale song that includes ALL 5 orchestras in the school...first years through fifth years.  There were so many children that they had them perform in the high school auditorium and the older kids stood throughout the entire rooms...filling the aisles.  SO cool!

Pretty amazing thinking of all the levels.



hopefully more moments will have been caught on my camera....but I haven't checked yet!

Hello Monday

Soccer has started, after they postponed the start of the season a few times.  

Our first game weekend it snowed, for like 1 minute...but it snowed.  

I was at the field with all three kids on my own.  Ed was golfing in the snow.   :(

One practice it was beautiful.  Henry has both his practice and games on Saturdays and has come a long way this past year.  I will capture him next game!    This past weekend we were rained out.  

School is coming to an end fast and fierce here.  Henry ends this Wednesday and Sydney, who won't get it, ends on Friday.   It is sad to see these endings happen...and yet, summer is such a great time of the year.  The freedom, laid back, adventures balanced with lazy days at home....ahhh, just sounds great.  We have signed up for a few little things but nothing that is weekly.  I want to relish the go with the mood flow we have been rolling with lately.  It just goes way better.  I typically spend the month of May coming up with all these big plans for fitting in learning and routine into our summer.  I do want to ponder it a bit and have some plan and goals.  But I decided that this year I would have less of a plan and expectations and maybe we would get to more of the routine stuff that I know would be important (math fact practice, reading moments daily, conquering new bucket list adventures, etc).  

Grandma Charlie is here for a few days. 

Syd nas napped twice now while she is here....Sunday and today.  She probably thinks I am nuts given she is not seeing all of Miss Syd's non-napping shenanigans.   I haven't had two consecutive days of naps in months!  Today I am missing her.  I know, crazy.  I also feel overwhelmed with the time...given the house is somewhat picked up and Henry is getting some special one on one time with Grandma.  

It is Monday and it has rained on and off all day.  

But everything is looking vibrant and green, so I am not going to complain :)

What have you started pondering for goals this summer?

Friday rambles.

At Syd's class this morning we get to share joys and concerns.  I shared my big joy....Syd napped twice this week.  That's two more times than she has napped in weeks.  I am ecstatic.  She needs it.  I think the earlier nap time helps.  So we will keep striving to get her down by noon.  Many have suggested and I have pondered...but with preschool pick up it is hard to juggle.  I will prioritize it though.

Today it is raining.  And it is exactly what I needed this afternoon.

Took three days off this week from the gym but got back at it this morning and it really does make all the difference to my day.

This week we had major garage sales happening.  I scored deals on the things I NEEDED (Soccer shoes for Charley and golf clubs for Henry).  And I also gifted my kiddos some fun new toys that have kept them busy ALL. WEEK. LONG.  Syd now knows what a garage sale is.  I have raised little garage sale pros.  They know that we don't buy at every one.  They hop in and out of the car quickly.  But on Thursday I ran to a few by myself when the sitter was here and that was heavenly.  I love striking deals on things that we only use for a bit or it doesn't matter if it is brand new.  This time of year when you have a few moments to waste before picking up or dropping off kiddos...Wednesday - Friday around here always offers up quick time wasting stops.

If Syd requests "do-do" song she wants her class song titled Baby Shark.  If she asks for "double x" that means she wants the Alphabet song.  She used to call it ABC song but now it is "double x"  ...meaning "w u x"

Everyone at ECFE with a 2-3 year old is struggling with kids that don't eat.  They all like their milk and have a hard time getting them to eat meals.  We are all trying hard to have a strategy on when to give the milk and encouraging each other to stick to one snack mid morning and mid day.  But it is hard.  And it is such an emotional battle for these littles and us mamas.

A handful of chocolate chips makes putting sheets on the guest bed WAY more fun.

The flowers on our deck are looking great.  Syd and Henry are watering champs and today the rain will be magical.  Our lawn is ready for a cut too.  Hopefully this weekend.

We have two soccer games tomorrow.  Hoping it doesn't rain.

A mid afternoon cup of coffee hit the spot while the rain fell.

Being firm and holding your ground as a parent is exhausting and hard work.  I have waited all week for the boys to put away their laundry.  I offered to help multiple times.  I finally said NO screen time until it is put away.  They put it off yet another day.  Finally I made them do it last night.  It took less than 15 minutes...but Charley threw a fit through the whole thing...so they still didn't get to play their video games after...because I told them if they whined the video game would wait til another day.  With Ed's encouragement I held my ground.  When I am home alone with three kids it is so hard to hold my ground on ALL the little things that are so important to hold my ground on...snacks, playing with neighbor friends, cleaning up, homework, practicing, helping around the house, treating each other respectfully, eating their fruits and vegetables.

I got new guest bathroom towels this week.  They do not match the paint in our guest bathroom because I hope to paint in there at some point.  Sooner than later.  Do I need to post a sign so people know this?  So Aunt Pat, the towels you gifted us for our wedding...are going to be back up towels now.  They made it 10 years!  Is it silly that I am so excited for these new soft towels.  I might have to be a guest for a day sometime soon :)

Yesterday I worked in our front flower bed.  We don't want to spend money on flowers there this year because we might do some cement work up there.  So I split up a plant that does well there and gets too big for that space and spread it out....I think it will work for the summer.


If you tell Syd that her new haircut is pretty she responds with "Mama haircut too."  I got my haircut short....possibly too short.  So easy.  Love that.  But it is pretty short.  Probably the shortest it has been in a long time.  I took this old picture from like 14 years ago in as my idea....

It's Friday. 

Time to enjoy friends.

Time to get things done, summer is right around the corner. 

Time to relish spring soccer games with hot coffee in hand. 

It's time to weekend it up!  

What's new with you?

Thanks, Aunt Jane.

I have an Aunt Jane, one of my dad's sisters, that lives in Okinawa, Japan.  

She teaches on a base there and has lived and taught there for more years than she has lived in the states.  She and I have always connected over our teaching passion and last summer she even came and helped watch Syd and Charley when Henry had surgery.  So special that they can know their Great Aunt that lives SO far away.  

This year Charley's class did the Flat Stanley project...where each child sent off a paper person and waited to hear about the adventures he/she had.  Charley sent his to his Great Aunt Jane.  

Boy oh Boy did she go above and beyond.  

The package arrived and Sydney and Henry hopped excitedly into the double stroller so they could deliver it to Charley and his class.  

Here is Flat Stanley....sportin' some Packer gear. 

Charley got to show everyone where Japan was. 

And then proceeded to empty out the box of all sorts of treasure...

a Japanese newspaper, children's book all about Tokyo and Japan, lots of different Japanese money that he got to share with ALL his classmates, chocolate cookie treats, post cards, and a very detailed book that his Aunt put together sharing so many neat facts about Japan.  

Charley's teacher was speechless. 

She also sent along three t-shirts for this little crew!  The boys absolutely LOVED theirs.   

It is so easy to get wrapped up in your everyday and miss out on the connections you can have with relatives that live far away.  Jane is so super at calling, emailing, and even showing up in the US.  I am so lucky that my children know who their Aunt Jane is.  This year she is going to hopefully attend our annual cousin Survivor weekend.  I have no doubt she will be a fierce competitor and might have us all trekking to Japan for Survivor 2014!  How cool would that be!  

Thanks Aunt Jane for making all of our days...but especially Charley's.  He was so proud to have such cool stuff to share with all his classmates!  I am planning on really taking some time this summer to go through all the Japan stuff with these three.  So cool.

quick....

We have a busy couple weeks ahead of us with lots of guests coming to stay.  Friends are popping in for a stay on Friday night (Can't wait Mike and Kelly!).  Grandma Charlie is coming for a few days, thank goodness, because I am craving me some Charlie time and we aren't going up north until the snow melts. haha.  And when she leaves I will have a day to strip the guest bed and remake it for my crazy family.  Who will be camping in all nooks and crannies of our house.  Meanwhile, the school year is coming to an end ferociously fast.

But guess what?!  Syd is napping.  AGAIN.  Yep, she napped on Tuesday.  I figured it was a fluke and didn't even attempt yesterday because we were too busy outside planting flowers.  But today, she went down again.  Bliss.  This mama is one happy camper.  Silent squeal going on here.  Third one of the day.  The first one came at 9:31 when I pulled out of the driveway, ALONE.  I nabbed a college neighbor home for three weeks.  I asked her to come for two hours so I could go to some "meetings" aka...garage sales and Target all by myself.  

I actually squealed another time after I stopped to get my garage sale money and realized that I had two full hours ahead of me ....and realized quickly that my window was still open.  Luckily, no one heard.

Ed sees it.  He can't figure out how to fix it.  And there isn't anything major or scary or sad going on here.   I am excited for guests, beautiful weather, planting flowers with my kids.  I have been getting my workouts in...well not this week.  All is so good.   But I still can't shake this feeling of anxious overwhelming funk.

So today, there is a skip in my step because I nabbed a few moments to hear myself think or not think. I got the guest room almost set for our first round of house guests.  And there is a cool breeze blowing through our house.  I am hopping my mood can carry through to when Ed gets home...because the last few nights I have been sleeping before the boys.

Does any other mamas out there relate to the importance of catching a few moments to yourself when you are supposed to be taking care of your children.  Not after they are in bed or when they are napping.  But moments when you really get to say you are getting a break.  Moments when you are kinda free to roam or shop or sit or do whatever.  Most of my moments happen when they are still sleeping in the morning or very near or after they are in bed....times that I consider my break time too.  So this morning's moments were extra special.  I may just have to take advantage of our neighbor gal again.  She is there for only 3 more weeks.

Best get off this machine and go get a few more things done.  The bathroom cleaning is next...ugh.  Such a bummer of a task.

just some recent moments

I have been terrible with blogging lately...so I am playing catch up. 

Because the moments have been there...I just haven't settled down to note them here. 

Mornings come early again.

Coffee...on the deck...while she colors in her "parkle shoes."

Rainy days have passed and a duck couple became frequent visitors...amazing to us all as they perched on our deck, wandered our yard, and quacked like crazy when sitting atop the playset. 

Spur of the moment (today) we ran to the local flower shop for a few flowers. 

We aren't doing our front flower bed yet...pondering having some work done around that area.  

So we did our pots.  I think this year we will keep them watered...given Syd loves to play out on the deck...something for her to do.  Right?

 We have this large pile of wood that needs to be split, stacked, and used...but Ed hasn't the time. 

So it sits.  So today I rolled and lifted some of them and came up with this little set up.  I am sure there is something that Ed won't like about it.  But I think it looks fun.  And our deck is so massive..it needs a little something on there.  

And we have been treasuring friend get togethers.  It just seems like they happen more frequently when the weather gets nicer.  Last Friday we went and spent time with friends that got some new baby ducks and chicks.  SO SO special.  And so so fun to come home with a dozen or so fresh eggs!  

We got to see them swim for the first time.  Amazing how they just do it.  

And I have enjoyed a glass or two outside with friends or with my kiddos.  Slowing down.  Forgetting to worry about dinner...and rather wander and explore with them. 

The days are long...but the school year is quickly coming to a close. 

Are you ready for summer?

I am.