Caught

Just as I finished making the pbj's for the 4,5,6and7 year old that were at the house today for a little fun in the sun while their mom finished up her last day of school I looked over in the kitchen and saw Punkin like this...

She is not walking yet, but her climbing skills seem to be working (yes I did run to get the camera instead of rescue Lydia before she fell - she was fine and did not get the fruit snacks!)

Pool side fun

We had some friends over today and the kids had such a great time playing outside - shooting the water guns, playing games and making their own enjoyable afternoon.  We've enjoyed our French friends and the fun in the sun.

So would this be considered an above ground pool or a redneck hot tub?  Whatever it's called I would say they had fun.

I'm a proud Mama

Lucy finished her last day of 4K today and will start kindergarten in the Fall.

Samuel finishes his last day of 1st grade tomorrow and will be a second grader!

and my husband was awarded the "Most likely to win a Larry Byrd look-alike contest" by his IB seniors (see the following post for the look that he wore to the faculty/student basketball game that won him that title)

Pirate Day

Today is Pirate day in Samuel's PC class.  (PC is the new name for 'gifted' classes and it stands for Program Challenge.  I guess that's more PC than gifted.)  He has enjoyed the challenge and his teacher is super creative.  They are ending their year and their pirate unit with a pirate party at school...here is the outfit we put together yesterday...complete with dwarf beard from two years ago...

Wild Red Sam

Career Day

Today is career day at Lucy's school.  She had to dress up like what she wants to be when she grows up.  Here she is...can you guess?

Yep - she still wants to be a cowgirl!  Her plans are to go to school "on the computer so that I can stay at home with Mama and Daddy and not have to leave home ever"  She plans to attend Georgia Tech for her cowgirl degree and own her own horse (with real legs) one day.  Aspirations of a 5 year old!

just a mom

There's a show on TV called "Untold stories of the ER"...here is my version but it would be titled "Untold storied of a Mom who is also an ER Nurse"

It would start with showing up the babysitter's house in the morning with a grocery sack - contents - one dirty onesie, a cup of almond milk, leftover rice and black beans from SEVERAL days ago...and no diapers....she would be so thankful to God for the AMAZING women (and families) who watch and care for her kids during the day and then call her husband just to say hey since she hasn't seen him in a couple of days except for those 10 minutes around 3 am when the baby was up and they both held her and fed her a banana and prayed for her to sleep.

It would pan to a scene where she cares for a guy having a heart attack and gets him to the cath lab in under 12 minutes, takes care of all manner of sickness and craziness And after her 13 hours on the clock punching out to head home.

It would end with her putting away the dishes in the dishwasher at 1am when she got home, reading notes in school bags and signing papers - looking in on her sleeping children and wondering about their days.    She would sort through the two baby bags she found lying around and find

1. Frog Bag - two pairs of purple pants, one tiny used tube of baby sunscreen, one toy hedgehog.

2. Jean 'Samuel' bag (Has Samuel's name on it because we don't have one that says Lydia - it helps throw off nursery workers who can't find the girl's bag) - one shoe, one head band, one bag of half eaten cheerios, a hat that hasn't fit for months.

She would make a note to clean out those bags in the morning.  She would be grateful for her sweet husband who cleaned the kitchen and had the kids pick up the play area.

Pan to the next morning - she dresses the baby for a trip to big brother's school because in looking at his bag earlier that morning she discovered he had an event in his classroom that parents could come to where the first graders read stories they wrote.  One sister needs pig tails to complete her spider girl outfit for school because it's "dress as your favorite character day".  Watches one year old throw herself on the floor and pitch a fit - (really kid? - you're 12 months old).  AND one mom who realizes the best part of her crazy life is when she gets to be home with those precious kiddos - choosing to be grateful for every minute and not dwell how she falls short or what she can't do...choosing to live in the messiness of life...grateful that the gospel is sweet to this broken mama.

T-ball

After a week of tournament playoffs and a game Saturday described by Jeremy as "t-ball as good as it gets" Samuel's team, the Hornets, won second place out of the 16 teams playing.  He has had a wonderful time, learned so much about baseball and had wonderful coaches.  He is batting from both sides of the plate, has overcome his fear of the ball and will get in front of it and even knows where he's supposed to throw it when he gets it.  I'm grateful for this experience and look forward to cheering on my little guy for years to come.

Friday night fun

Qwarkle with the kids = funtimes

Mother's Day

just because

Pot Holder Making

Lucy got a pot holder making kit from Aunt Erin and Uncle Casey (THANK YOU!) for her birthday and we finally got around to making some pot holders with it this afternoon.  Lucy did great and had a wonderful time.  She was very intent on keeping the pattern and taking her time.  We had a great time and I look forward to making more with my little creative cutie!

PS - yep, that is an 'almost' black eye.  She and brother had a run in and she wears the bruises to proves it.

For the Love of books

Mothering Moments

So...is it bad that

1. My five year old came to me this morning while I was in the kitchen and said
Lucy - "what is that?"
Mama - "A mop" (wondering did she really mean the mop, could my five year old really not know what a mop is)
Lucy - "what do you do with it?"
Mama - "Clean the floors" (disappointed that yes, my five year old has no clue what to do with this contraption, do I really not use the mop that much?)
Lucy - "Could I use it to clean the carpets when you are done?"
Mama - (yep, this is as bad as I thought)

2. That my one year old went to the ball park to Samuel's game in only a old pull up found under a seat in the van because she had an explosion on the way and the hubby said the clothes had to stay in the garbage at Burger King but no time left to make the return trip home before the game.

It's really not that bad right?  NO...all children happy and accounted for, one sweet husband who cleaned up the one year old and made it to the park and fed all children all by himself while mommy worked all night.  One five year old who is happy to learn how to play in the water on the kitchen floor.  Not too bad.