Preschool Introductions

Yesterday I was parent helper in Little Sissy's preschool class. Parents are required to help at least 3 times each semester. Between all the times I've gone for Little Buddy and the times I've gone for Little Sissy, the kids are getting used to seeing my face. I was never without someone cuddling up with me or on my lap. Very fun.

Yesterday I was struck by the way Little Sissy was describing everyone to me to make sure I remembered them. Her perceptions just cracked me up.

"That's Charlotte. She's had dried up chocolate on her face since last year."
"That's Olivia. She has to have her fruit snacks cut into little pieces."
"That's Evan. He's getting bigger and doesn't have to bring his puppy any more."
"That's Ella. She hits sometimes."
"That's Kassie. She has short hair like me."

Do you ever wonder how people would describe you if they had to wrap it all up in one sentence?

Fall Festivities

Last year at this time I was regretting that I was so busy with my business (interesting word, isn't it?) that I didn't have a lot of family time. Thanks to the economy, my wish has been granted and I've had much more time this year. :) We've been to the pumpkin patch 3 times, Grants Farm, Boo at the Zoo, and the Family Fall Fun Fest (that might be in the wrong order, but it's definitely 4 F--somethings in a row). The girls chose to be Laura and Mary Ingalls (not Holly Hobby, not Little Bo Peep, not Amish girls--just to be clear). Little Buddy was Scooby Doo for part of the festivities and a pirate for the rest.

This year they've been much more aware of all the "creepy" things around. They are very sensitive to it and prone to nightmares, so I try to limit their exposure. It can't always be helped, though, as was the case at Grant's Farm. I was very surprised they were willing to get their picture made with this guy. Notice that the weather was freakishly warm just a few weeks ago. Now we have our coats out.

Here they are at the FFFF. Their dolls are Baby Carrie and Baby Grace.

Boo at the Zoo. I hated to cover up the calico dress, but it was quite chilly! Those animals can sure produce the candy!

One of our days at the pumpkin patch. Sadly, Big Sissy was at school. :(

Isn't she just wicked cute??

A couple of funny stories from the season, because you know how I love to tell stories. First, Big Sissy read the Donald Duck version of "A Christmas Carol" at school. There is a part where Scrooge has died and there is a picture of the tombstone, which says R.I.P. She wanted to know if that meant "Rich Icky Person." It made me giggle thinking of all the rich icky people in the cemeteries.

Then we were planning to carve our pumpkin (which we still haven't done). I said out loud that I would have to do a google search to find out how to cook the pumpkin seeds. Little Sissy, who is always so helpful and sincere, said, "Mommy, why don't you just turn the seeds over to see how to cook them?" Perhaps we eat from a box too often? :)

Yes, Boys are Different!

When Little Buddy was a baby, people would ask me, "So is it different having a boy?" I would shake my head and laugh because he was the sweetest, cuddliest little baby who smiled all the time, slept great, ate good. But then he turned about 2 and oh my, yes. It is different. He still will play with "girl stuff" from time to time, but he just plays with it differently. He is still my most affectionate child, and I hope that never changes. But he's almost my most physically aggressive child.

Today I was reminded again of the differences when I was trying to teach letters and sounds as we were eating lunch. "What starts with F? Ffffffff....."

Little Sissy: "Fairies, fancy, fish"
Little Buddy: "Fffff....football! And FARTS!!!" (hysterical laughter)

Yep, I've got a boy. And I love it.

Setting the Birthday Bar High

I feel slightly guilty because this will probably never happen again for anyone else's birthday, BUT this year the whole family was off for Little Sissy's birthday. We celebrated all day long, and that wasn't even her party! Starting off with special birthday pancakes...

Then she opened her Samantha Doll she's been wanting ...

Next came a trip to the Magic House, where we did lots and lots of painting...

And finally finished the perfect day with a STL Cardinals game with our church. Looking back, this is even more significant since they ended up winning their 11th World Series in 2011. Happy birthday, sweet girl!!

Just Say No

We were passing the grocery store yesterday when suddenly I heard Big Sissy sort of gasp.
"Mommy, I can't believe they would sell DRUGS there. It says so right on the sign."

Thank you, public school, for giving us conversation topics that I might not have thought of with a 6-year-old. I love that it bothers her, though!

Soccer Princess

I promised pictures of the younger 2 playing soccer and then soccer started consuming our life, so now that it's over I have time to post pictures. :) Big Sissy had practice on Tuesday nights--immediately after ballet, Little Buddy had practice on Friday nights, and then Little Sissy had practice on Saturday mornings--at the same time as Big Sissy's games. Whew!

Little Sissy tells me that she loved soccer, although she tends to tire out in the middle. Water breaks are her favorite time. After the first practice, I also discovered that she had been stashing lip gloss in her shin guards. I don't know what God has planned for her, but her athleticism may lie more in the form of dance or swim. Just a guess. Either way, she had fun and got some good outdoor exercise.

You might be wondering where the pictures of Little Buddy playing soccer are. Well...I'm not going to blame the fact that he's a 3rd child as much as the fact that I am a forgetful mommy. With practices on Friday nights, we were doing good to get there on time and I could never seem to remember to also bring my camera. After a few practices we just started to forget it. Literally. We forgot to go to the last 3 practices. Oops. Luckily, he didn't love it so he didn't notice. He really thought his coach was mean because he kept saying they couldn't use their hands. Big meanie. But lest I worry that Little Buddy won't be able to find something he likes, we went to a free gymnastics class last week and he went NUTS he loved it so much. So don't worry. We won't be bored. Tumbling starts next week.

Soccer Mom

I don't think I was ever the cool kid, but the deal was sealed when we got the mini van. I really wanted to get the cute family stick people to put on the back of it, but someone told me that's what all the minivan moms did so I decided not to. But now I'm a soccer mom. I'm back to wanting the minivan decals.

Hubby couldn't be more excited to finally have a girl in the family who likes sports. In fact, 5 minutes after we arrived at her first practice he jumped in to help the coach. By the time we left he was officially the co-coach of her team. Because we needed one more responsibility this year. :) It's fun to see him excited about something though--especially something involving our kids. It's a great way for them to spend time together. So here are some pictures of Big Sissy at her first soccer practice. Little Sissy and Little Buddy will start their Rookies classes in a couple of weeks, so I'll post more pictures then.

They Told Me This Day Would Come

This week I sent my children to school. All of them. People told me this day would come, but there were times I couldn't even imagine it. Not that I'm entirely happy about it. No, I would still homeschool if anyone would let me. But they want to go, so I'm going to let them. I was most worried about Little Buddy. He's wanted to go to preschool for a year now. In fact, he has had a whole make-believe preschool going since Little Sissy started. In his pretend preschool, he had a teacher named Mulan--except when she broke her arm and he had a different teacher for a while. His friends there were named Ava and Aiden, except Ava seemed to be a bossy little pretend girl judging from the way they argued on the pretend phone. But Little Buddy is a little--well, exuberant. And I was afraid his teachers couldn't handle all that exuberance. You might detect my fear in this little pre-first day interview.



When we got there, though, it was nothing like I had pictured. I thought it would be full of quiet little girls and well-behaved boys who would make Little Buddy the target of way too much attention from the teachers. As it turns out, there are several special needs kids in his class, none of whom have their own aid, and so the teachers are too busy to notice all the quiet little kids. I think this will get better as everyone settles into a routine, but the good news is that no one thought he was noisy. At all. And no one thought he was wild. At all. Whew. I think he's going to fly right through the radar in this class. He had a great day building with blocks, riding the tricycle, doing puzzles, writing on the chalkboard. Before long I am going to stop staying all day. Then I'm going to stop peeking in the classroom every few minutes. Then I'm going to actually take that time to go get coffee or something. Baby steps.

Girl Heaven

If you've talked to me in the past year, you know what I mean when I say "Girl Heaven"--an accessory shop called Charming Charlie. They have necklaces, bracelets, earrings, scarves, headbands, clutches, sunglasses--all organized into color groups for easy shopping. The store sometimes elicits a physiological response from girls who have never been there before (drooling, shortness of breath, brief dizziness). It's so much fun. I have visited there upon occasion and recently was blessed to spend a birthday gift card there. This weekend in Springfield I got to introduce some new friends to the estrogen magnet AND take my girls there for the first time. It was cute watching my girls play dress-up with all the goodies there.

Hoosier Celebration

Apparently we've been having a busy summer! I didn't really mean to take a blog break, but we've been doing VBS, trips to the pool, road trips, swimming lessons (all the kids plus Daddy), visits with friends, trips to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I really thought sending the kids to school was going to be easier this year, but we only have 2 weeks left and I'm already so sad. I love having my whole family together! This year Big Sissy will start 1st grade, and Little Buddy will join Little Sissy at Tuesday/Thursday morning preschool. What will I do with all my spare time, you might ask? Well, I'm not going to have any. I'll still be running a household, working my 31 business, doing publicity for MOPS, trying to help my dad with his ministry newsletter some, being a parent helper at preschool...you get the picture.

One of our road trips was a visit to Hubby's brother and his family in Indiana. This has been a tradition the past few years on Independence Day. Hubby's brother always has a great fireworks show set up, and this year they invited nearly 100 people to bring a potluck dish and join us for dinner before the fireworks show. Nearly that many actually came! The bad news is that the fireworks show was rained out; the good news is that every family brought food and those women sure know how to cook! By the way, all of you who think I'm such an extrovert should have seen me hiding in the kids' rooms trying to escape the crowds that night. I realized I am still an introvert at heart; I'm just a chatty one now! :)

Here's the whole gang posing for a very sweaty group photo.

Pyro man entertaining the kids with endless firecracker wars between the chickens and battleships.

Our ever gracious hostess.

Big Sissy, who will work on a task until she gets it, FINALLY learned to blow a bubble!

My handsome husband--and a chicken.

The kids loved sparklers in their pajamas!

A Boy and Someone Else's Dog

My children have been begging for a dog for about as long as they could say the word. Big Sissy especially has always been more of a stuffed animal fan than a doll lover, but a real animal--well, that would be even better.

I have instructed them that they always need to ask the owner before they pet a dog on the street or at the park. Now Little Buddy can't see a dog without hollering out, "Ownah! Ownah! Can I pet youh dog?" They have even offered to take their quarters from doing chores to rescue a pet from an animal shelter. Of course that means that I pitch in the rest--and buy the food--and do the potty training--and take on more responsibility. I haven't really been open to the idea, especially since I'm still trying to potty train a child who doesn't particularly wish to be trained.

This week our friends went on a float trip and asked if we would "dog sit." Nervously, I agreed. I don't know a thing about dogs, but I managed to figure out what to do with children so how hard can it be, right? The thing about BJ is that she's old. Like in dog years, she would be a great grandma. So she doesn't really run and play with the kids. And though she is potty trained at her house, apparently grandma doggies tend to have accidents at other people's houses. Like a lot of them. So our trial run isn't proving to be very indicative of what it would really be like to have a dog. But the kids are enjoying being pet ownah's for as long as it lasts. And I have my scooper and Lysol wipes ready.

(Check out Little Sissy's shoes. Some things just aren't worth fighting about.)

VBS music--The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I don't know when we finally stopped listening to last year's VBS music every time we got in the van. I think it was when I took the whole basket of music and DVD's in the house "to clean them." But now it has started all over. I can't really complain when my kids don't really know who "Justin Beaver" is and beg to listen to worship music. Here's a clip of my summer entertainment.

Cinderella

One of the reasons I wish I was homeschooling is the Lifelight Youth Theatre. It reminds me of the theatre group in all the Karen Kingsbury novels, but it is here in our own hometown. One of the girls in our church is part of the group, and she was in Cinderella this weekend. When it showed up on Groupon, including a pre-show party, I knew we had to go. The pre-party was apparently only about 10 minutes long, because we were 10 minutes late and missed it. But the girls did get yummy blue cupcakes and got to get autographs and pictures with many of the cast members.

Waiting for the show to begin.

Hanging out with Cinderella and Prince Charming--every girl's dream come true.

I was kind of glad for Little Sissy's sake that this Cinderella was a brunette like her.

They were a little afraid that the wicked stepsisters and stepmother might be mean, so they went together.

We were jaded by the Disney version of Cinderella and assumed this to be her. She turned out to be the lovely Fairy Godmother.

Whoever thought of blue cupcakes was clever but does not have little girls dressing up in white dresses for the party. M-E-S-S. But oh, so fun.

The beautiful Cinderella gang.

Boy Dress Up

Little Buddy loves to dress up with the girls. Daddy made him stop dancing in their tutus, so he now wears an Asian outfit that PaPa brought him from China a couple of years ago. It is bright, shiny, and makes him feel like a prince; a good compromise. Now that he's 3, he's definitely discovering the "boy stuff." Our friend Amy made him his own superhero cape, which he loves, and he's recently been loving being our rescuer in his Spiderman outfit. It's fun to watch him developing his own style of play as he realizes he doesn't have to do everything the girls do. They are learning to play together in different ways. They can be the damsels in distress; he is the rescuer. They are the princesses; he is the prince. They are Rapunzel and Mother Gothel; he is Flynn Rider. They are the mothers; he is the baby (he really likes that one). His is going to be one strong person after he survives living in a house where he is outnumbered by girls. I am convinced that he will be a more well-rounded person and hopefully more sensitive husband and daddy because of their (our) influence.

Born To Worship

I can't believe how quickly this crazy, busy year is coming to a screeching halt. Big Sissy's almost done with kindergarten, and Little Sissy has almost completed a year of preschool. Little Buddy keeps getting left out, which he is NOT happy about. He tells everyone that he's 6 because he's tired of being called the little brother. Not to worry, little man. Much to Mommy's dismay, you are now old enough for preschool, swim lessons, choir--all the things you've been left out of before.

One of these things is not like the others. I know, I know. Don't remind you that you don't have a choir t-shirt. Sorry.

It warms my heart to hear these kids worshipping with their whole heart--and lungs.

Ready to go on stage for the final concert of the year.

Big Sissy does not get stage fright at all. She loves the stage!

If Life Gives You a Master Cleanse,

Make Lemonade!!!

For the past couple of years I have heard about this "master cleanse," which consists of water, fresh lemon juice, grade B pure maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. I never had any desire to do it, but I thought it was slightly intriguing.

Not being Catholic, I've never given up anything for Lent. This year, however, Hubby and I both decided to give up Pepsi. We know it's not healthy, and we just needed a reason to stop drinking it. I had one Pepsi during that time, which Catholic friends tell me is normal. Hubby says we get "a mulligan" since we're Protestant. Whatever. I'm just weak. I was still pretty proud of myself, but I was disappointed that I didn't drop any weight and my body didn't miraculously transform during those weeks.

Since I'm a night owl and a google addict, I decided to do some research (not scientific, mind you). I came across a youtube video series of a girl who did this master cleanse for 40 days, and I could see the transformation of her body and her face. Impulsively, I decided to try it. I knew I wouldn't make it 40 days, but I thought I would do the recommended minimum: 10 days. When I woke up the next morning, I packed up the children and headed to Trader Joe's to purchase the lemons and Grade B maple syrup. On the way I sent this text to Hubby: "Started a fast/cleanse today. I might be crabby. Just thought you should know."

The day I started, I also went to my doctor's office for a physical (yes, the children were still with me. That was interesting.) Of course she rolled her eyes when I told her what I was doing and just said that if I felt like I needed to do it, don't do it for a long time.

So a day and a half later, when I CAVED when Hubby ordered roast beef sandwiches for the family (except me, of course), I felt justified that I was following doctor's orders. I felt slightly guilty for eating Little Buddy's sandwich, but he was asleep and had no idea what he missed.

Here's what I learned from this little experiment:
1. I'm weak. I won't lie. I like food.
2. The cleanse didn't seem to cleanse. I found out later I was supposed to be drinking a herbal laxative tea at night, but somehow I missed that little detail.
3. Lemonade made with maple syrup is tasty, but it all gets ruined by the cayenne pepper.
4. Did I mention that I like food? Lemonade isn't food no matter how it's made.
5. You can use lemons for all kinds of things--you know, just in case you have a 10-day supply laying around. Of course they make really great lemonade with old-fashioned sugar (which is also handy when you have a child with an intolerance to yellow dye), but you can also use them to dissolve your tablets for dying eggs.
6. It's a really bad idea to break your fast with Arby's roast beef followed by a Sam's club hot dog, even if said fast only lasted a day and a half. Somehow the hot dog has more of a cleansing effect at that point than the lemonade ever did.
7. I cannot drink 60 oz. of liquid in a day even if I'm not consuming food. So to drink all of that lemonade PLUS regular water in a day was physically impossible.

Master Cleanse = Fail. But we are currently enjoying our diet of sugary lemonade and Pepsi. Back to water tomorrow. With food.

Oh, yes. He speaks.

I have shared with you some of my frustrations about Little Buddy's speech delay. He is still hard to understand at times, but it seems to be "age appropriate delays" so far. What's happening now is that he talks so much and so fast that he's hard to understand. I wouldn't trade it, though. I love getting a glimpse of what's going on in his head. And there's a lot going on. I was so proud of him today as he told MawMaw and PawPaw not only the story of the resurrection but last week's Palm Sunday lesson.

Last night I recorded him telling us what Easter is all about. Hang on to your seats. He's precious.

Mini Silly Me

Everyone always talks about Big Sissy being a "Mini Me." She has my eye color and hair color, and she is analytical and logical like me. But there's this other side of me--the one that will do crazy things to make people laugh. Little Sissy is the "mini THAT me." We have been cracking up at her lately.

Here's her impersonation of Flynn Rider in Tangled. He's trying to win Rapunzel over with his smolder. He says, "I hate to do this to you, but...and then makes this face."

"Hey, Mommy. Take a picture of me hugging Little Buddy."

"Who am I?" I'm Daddy!


"Hey, look! I'm a walrus!"

I am so blessed to have three children with three different personalities and gift sets. They make my life so full and rich. And hilarious.

Charity Basket

Big Sissy is obsessed with Webkinz. She had 3 of them before her birthday, and by the time we were finished with her birthday and Christmas she was up to 17. But as marketing schemes go, you have to have certain KINDS of Webkinz to unlock all the games on the website. So it's never enough. I sort of refuse to buy her any more. I finally just bought a pet net--you know, the hammock that hangs on the wall and harbors stuffed animals. I don't really want any more. But she is determined. So a few weeks ago she decided that the quarters for making beds and other household tasks were not getting her to her goal fast enough. She made 15 Easter cards and set up a shop at the end of our driveway. Our sweet neighbor across the street, Becky, was her first customer.

Well, let me rephrase. She was the only customer. After a little while of waiting for random cars to drive by, notice that she had a shop, and stop to buy cards; she talked her daddy into taking her door to door. I was mortified when I found out because I didn't want the neighbors to think we were scamming them or that we were desperate for money. But Hubby took it as an opportunity to meet the neighbors and teach Big Sissy some interpersonal/sales skills. He's much nicer than I am.


It totally worked. She had sold all of them within about 15 minutes. I am completely shocked that (a) she got $1 each for those cards, (b) my introverted husband went door-to-door to meet the neighbors, and (c) she ended up pooling her money with her siblings to buy Tangled instead of another Webkinz.

But the story doesn't end there. Because on Good Friday my nightmare came true. Remember Sweet Becky? She came knocking on the door with an Easter basket stuffed full of treats for the kids. I'm doing self talk to tell myself that she just thinks our kids are adorable and she misses having little ones, but secretly I am afraid that she thinks we have to sell cards for money. Probably we don't have enough money to buy an Easter basket for our children. Regardless of the motivation, we had a nice neighborly chat and we used the charity basket to put our beautifully dyed eggs in this Easter.

Now go make some more cards, honey. Baby needs a new pair of shoes.