Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season

While the hype of Hurricane Issac was big, the storm has been nothing more than a little nuisance. 

I sent Chris out on Sunday to Lowe's and the grocery store to buy hurricane supplies.  He came home with air conditioner filters, light bulbs, two bottles of red wine, and oatmeal.  Interesting...obviously he wasn't taking this seriously!

The boys got yesterday and today off from school.  We have managed to keep ourselves busy while getting out whenever it is not raining.  Here they are ready to evacuate by boat if necessary...

By yesterday afternoon, we needed a project.  Everyone headed to the kitchen to bake cookies!

Our favorite part of the storm was Daddy coming home from work early last night!  Here they are picking out some new tunes for the ipod.

So no worries down here.  Just a little rain.  And a little break from the new school routine.

And Then There Was One...

With the three older boys in school now, there's lots of time at home with Big Boy.  He's so much fun and so exhausting at the same time. 

We are struggling to find our new routine.  Nap time is harder to come by.  We are trying to sleep in the middle of the day (which leaves little time to run errands for me but quiet time in my house which is nice too), but it makes the afternoons long.  John's pretty flexible though and is rarely fussy...quite the blessing.

He has turned into quite the climber these days.  Leave him alone for a moment and he will be on top of something.  I find him on chairs, the dining room table, and on beds.  I've never had a climber before so this is new to me!

John's favorite thing to do is to help himself (and his brothers) to food from the pantry.  He climbs right on up and throws down whatever he wants.  I put a rubberband on the knobs to prevent his entry but he quickly snapped it into two.  Five rubberbands seem to be doing the trick these days!

Even when he is in mischief, he's such a cutie that it is hard to get on to him!  I have to remind myself daily that he is old enough for discipline and that yes he does understand what I am telling him!  I'm trying to cherish these days of toddler-hood since they will be my last.

UPDATE:  About thirty minutes after posting this, I went to the kitchen to start a load of laundry.  Big Boy was in his bedroom.  After getting my load started (2 minutes max), I return to find him in my bathroom like this.  (It's dental floss in case you are wondering...)

I know some of my dear readers will be concerned about the dental floss potentially wrapping around his neck.  I assure you Big Boy is never left unattended for long!

Welcome to Our Porch

For the past two weeks construction has revovled around our new porch.  It has unfortunately slowed the kitchen progress somewhat, but hopefully that will get back into gear next week.

The porch is now covered...lots of detail left to be done but here's a sneak peak!

Chris and I are looking forward to many quiet cups of coffee and glasses of wine out here....and more realistically just sitting and watching the boys play in the backyard!

And They Are Off...

The house is quiet for the first time in a long time.  My boys are off at school (all except John who is thankfully napping!) and while I love the quiet it feels weird.  Not sure what to do with myself.  The list of things to accomplish is so long that it makes me what to simply stretch out on the couch and read a book...or write a blog post!

We celebrated the new school year with a "Back to School Feast."  The menu was created by Daniel and Philip.  Ribs, macaroni and cheese, and because I made them pick something green lima beans.  Before dinner, we asked the blessing and included with it this prayer from our Book of Common Prayer....

O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities,
especially Trinity Children's Center and St. Paul's Episcopal School, 

that they may be lively centers for
sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom;
and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find
you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.

The boys ate up and were surprised when I pulled dessert out of fridge. I made Pots de la Creme' during their quiet time.  Nice surprise!

This morning was busy.  Everyone was up by 5:30 am.  The whole getting up earlier for school idea is lost on us!  I made bacon, eggs, biscuits, and grits....again requested by Philip and Daniel.  I took a shower and they put on their uniforms.  Everyone seemed ready to go!

Once at school, we dropped Philip off first.  No problems.  He seemed eager to get started and had no problems saying goodbye.

Off to Daniel's classroom.  Not so easy.  John started crying...I guess he was afraid I was leaving him.  He was clutching on to me.  Then Daniel starts tearing up and trying to hold on to.  He tried to escape once!  I left him with Ms. Cotton and prayed that he would get busy and forget about it.  I truly hope that gets easier.

Now it's already time to head back up the hill to retrieve the little guys!

What a Day

It began early as it always does...

5:00 am.  Waffle batter made...oranges peeled...time to get a shower.

5:30 am...William is up and helps make the waffles.  Make lunch for William and Daddy.

6:15 am...Breakfast for all.  Say goodbye to Daddy as he is traveling to Huntsville.

7:15 am...Cement mixer arrives to pour our porch!  William, John, and I are all eyes!

7:40 am...Pape, Cam, and Claire Davidson arrive so their mother can get to a SPS meeting.

these two are in PK3 together!

8:40 am...Lynn and I swap.  She watches my crew so I can make it to my SPS Kindergarten meeting.  But first, drop William off for his first day of school!

10:00 am...Relieve Lynn  Tell Daniel all about the fun he is going to have in Ms. Cotton's class.

10:45 am...Babysitter arrives.  Daniel and I are off to the SPS Kindergarten pool party.

12:30 pm...Leave pool party early.  Pick William up from school...drop William and Daniel off with the babysitter, so I can go to my SPS 1st Grade meeting.

2:00 pm...Finally arrive home for the day!!!!

This was not an easy transition out of summer, but I survived. I am so excited about all of the boys teachers. 

William's class had a last minute change and he is back with Ms. Donna.  He's happy and went with no tears today! 

Daniel has Ms. Cotton...Philip's Kindergarten teacher.  We think she's awesome and couldn't be more pleased. 

Philip too has a great teacher.  I was amazed sitting in his class meeting at how much of a jump 1st grade is...a lot more instruction!  Homework???  When are we going to find time to do that??

Can't wait to tell you how Wednesday goes!  As I tucked Philip and Daniel in tonight, they both were wide-eyed with anxious energy.  Philip said, "Momma, I can't wait to go meet my teacher tomorrow."  Daniel chimed in, "Me, too!"

My Summer Memories

When I look back on the summer of 2012, here's what I will want to remember:

life in the rental house...kowabungas in the swimming pool...boomerangs in the swing...time to explore a new backyard...

long bike rides/walks down by the creek or to GranGran and PopPop's...reading Harry Potter books to Philip and Daniel...picnics at the swimming pool...

Magic Tree House books...watching the Olympics...our trips to Walmart and the attention we inevitably attracted...the arrival of baby Campbell..
.

daily visits to our house to see the construction progress...lunches out with GranGran...trips to the beach...dance parties with DJ Master Daniel...

walks to Old Dutch simply because we hadn't left the house that day...time with cousins - both McCalls and Watsons...homemade playdough...breakfast at Krispy Kreme...

afternoon naps with William...our first missing teeth...watching Daniel eat, sleep, and live in his SPS uniform...watching JohnJohn outgrow everything in his closet (even newly made things!)...

reading Curious George to William only to find all boys in my lap...a gruesome work schedule that kept Daddy from missing lots of the fun...trips to the playground to let off a little steam...

Dearest little boys...what a pleasure it is to stay at home with you.  These memories will carry me for a lifetime...I hope they carry you too. 

Thoughts on Getting Older and the End of Summer

I celebrated 36 years on Tuesday.  As I went for a run that morning, I reflected on this time period...my mid-thirties.  I realized that I'm hitting my stride.  Finally comfortable with the self that I am....comfortable in my own skin.  Happy with who I am...who He created me to be.  That's a gift.

The day was good...some time with my boys and friends at the fountains and dinner with my family and the two people who thankfully chose to have a fourth!  A wonderful day.  Complete with cupcakes.

As most of you know Tuesday is also Chris and I's anniversary.  We celebrated thirteen years together as husband and wife. I couldn't be more thankful for this man.  I am not really sure who I am without him.  We've been together longer than we have apart.  Chris is truly a man of strong character and his influence on his growing young gentlemen is a blessing. Here's to many more, my friend!

Unfortunately, my birthday is also a reminder that summer is coming to a close.  Not in terms of weather, grant you, but in terms of school.  In some ways I am ready.  Ready to run an errand, clean a bathroom, attend a meeting, etc. without four little friends in tow. 

But in so many ways, I am not ready.  The boys and I have had a great summer.  Nothing special...nothing exciting (unless you count moving to another house exciting!).  But time.  Time together.  Time to dream, explore, talk, read, cook...all the things we enjoy doing. 

We had a family meeting the other day to go over our list.  The list we made at the beginning of the summer.  Where did we fall short.  What did we accomplish.  It told me a lot about myself.  We accomplished it all...except three things. 

• Visit the Springfields.
• Visit Elizabeth in Atlanta.
• Go to the New Orleans zoo.

Notice a theme??  This Momma doesn't travel well.  I am a homebody and am I raising four little homebodies.  So a new goal for myself...get out and see the world a little bit more!

So whether I like it or not, summer comes to an end on Monday. 

Philip's off to 1st grade and he's ready.  He's plowed through thirty Magic Tree House books in a matter of two weeks.  We've been library hopping...going every other day to support his habit....going to six different branches to be sure we have the next one in the series.  I dare say he's ready for some stimulation!

Daniel's off to Kindergarten.  Not sure how he'll handle being away from me, but I think we've made strides this summer.  He no longer cries when I leave him with a babysitter and he's thrilled to be wearing a SPS uniform.  He too is ready.  Not to be outdone by his older brother, he too is reading Magic Tree House books.  He's on his second one...no small feat for an entering Kindergartener.

William's off to PK-3 and he's assured me that he will not cry.  He's ready for Ms. Pat and her toy grill.  I think he'll do great too!

Goodbye, summer.  With the boys in school, I'll be dreaming of cooler days and some time spent outdoors on our new patio (which is getting cement poured tomorrow!!).