PM kindergarten

Z has pm kindergarten this year.  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE it?  I was not at all thrilled about it when we found out....in fact I was kind of bummed.  I was used to having him gone 2 mornings a week, and I was kind of intimidated by the thought of having all 4 boys every morning (except Wednesday when we go to Bible study). 

But it has been FABULOUS.  The fact that we don't have to get up and rush out the door has been such a blessing.  We only have to be someplace on Wednesday and Sunday, and we don't have to leave until 840.  This has meant that the kids (ahem, I) can sleep in, so most mornings we aren't really up and moving until after 715 or so. 

We get to go all sorts of places, all of us, which we wouldn't be able to do if Z was gone in the morning and home during naptime.  And the boys are old enough to DO fun stuff and it's not a huge hassle to go everyplace.   

My naptime is (used to be) completely quiet for me.  After we get Z on the bus, read books, and the littles get in bed, I (used to) have 2-3 hours of time.  And some days Nate gets home on the early side, so he and I can actually have an adult conversation during daylight hours with no interruptions. 

We have time to play with friends in the morning, or go out ourselves and run errands.  The boys all play pretty well together, so some mornings we just hang out and play, and everyone is happy. 

I kind of keep thinking that this is the best it will get.  I get all my boys home with me, no real schedule, they play happily, I get some time to myself in the afternoon, the boys are at great ages...

And soon, they will all be gone at school. I will have to go back to work.  We will have to rush out the door and rush to do homework and rush to get to activities.  I won't have nearly as much time to myself, and soon I'll have three 3 year olds (in my experience, a HARD age). 

So I'm trying to enjoy this year.  The slowness, the flexibility, the time to myself (not that I don't have 8 million things to do, but it is easier when it is daytime and quiet). 

I could eat them up, they're so cute

These pictures were completely spontaneous.  We arrived early (how?) to CBS and I had the boys stand for a few pics...all the hugging/arms around each other was completely them.  LOVE these pics! 

And since it was a nice day (in December) and they were in cute sweaters and we were playing outside before Z caught the bus, I had them smile for a few more.  All of these pics will now count and their 3 year and 6 year pictures...I don't think I could get better ones anywhere else :)  Well, maybe better photography, but not better looks on my kids faces. 

Activity update

I posted here about all the fun we would be having in December, and December has not let us down :) 
We had to change a few, which was fine with me. I already posted about the first few, and another few will be in an upcoming post...

But here is an update on a few of the other ones:

We have made 2 sorts of ornaments (a foam snowman one and a felt tree one).

We used nativity stickers to make a Christmas picture.  We got the stickers at CBS (my Bible study).  I don't know if we get them every year or not, but we got them the year Z was the littles age, and I had him use the stickers to create his own scene.  I think his was a bit more "on target" but he probably had a bit more coaching than the littles did (when we did them I mostly just tried to help them get the stickers off the paper, not direct them to how they "should" go.)  And the last ones didn't flip, and I don't have it in me to work on it.  Turn your head ;) The first one is Z's from 3 years ago, when he was the same age as the littles. 

We saw 2 sets of lights, one at Our Lady of the Snows and the other at Santa's Magical Kingdom.   Our Lady of the Snows was smaller, and I didn't have the boys shoes on, so a lot of the inside stuff we didn't do.  Next year!  And Santa's Magical Kingdom was a trip...a lot of of school characters (the Jetsons!) but the boys loved it. 

We made ice sun catchers (which are still in the freezer because it has been to warm outside for them...this also meant we had to miss out on freezing bubbles).

We watched the Grinch (and Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman).

We made Rice Krispy "gingerbread houses".  Pretty random...picked it up on a whim shopping one day.  Unlike the M&M houses, where N ate all the candy before decorating, this time it was L.  Whatever, everyone was happy! 

Today I miss my babies

 Big boys are loud.  They fight.  They bite.  They rip books multiple times.  They are deaf and/or have selective hearing (maybe that loud part has something to do with this).  I have to repeat myself not just once for each kid (that is four times already) but about three times per kid (math whizzes, that is 12 times).  12 times saying "Please buckle yourself into your lunch chair.  Go to the bathroom.  Get your arms in the straps.  Don't hit your brother.  We don't rip books.  Not so loud.  He asked you to stop. We don't say poop.  Get off of me.  Don't hit me.  Get in your bed.  Find your blankets.  Hang up your coat.  Find your shoes.  You may not have his book.  SHARE."  Etc, etc, etc. 

I am tired. They are nuts.  Days like yesterday and today, I want my sweet babies back...the ones who YES did cry and YES did need me to hold them and YES had me sleep deprived, but NO did not yell or talk or talk back or whine or disobey or hit or bite or rip or ignore or be malicious, and did NOT require multiple timeouts in a house where there just is not room for 3 kids to have timeout at the same time.  While I did have to hold 2 babies (or more) at once, I didn't have to haul them off of each other, one kid held in each hand, and hurl them into timeout for biting/hitting/screaming. 

A taste of today: 

• I just pulled L off of N's belly where he sat while C yanked on N's hood and tried to drag him along.  Screaming was involved all around. 
• Z wanted to help N look at a book, N didn't want help and told Z, Z didn't listen, N took a huge bite out of him. Again, screaming all around. 
• N went to timeout in his bed since he was screaming like a lunatic, where he proceeded to rip at least 2 books to shreds, then hit me when I yelled at him. 
• I didn't feel like grocery shopping yesterday when I would have been by myself (MORON), so I had to take all 4 boys this morning for a big ($120 at Aldi) trip, on a Monday before a holiday.  They took up the cart while I had the groceries in a bag, under the cart, and a few in the cart that could handle being stomped on. 
• Z dropped the apples at least twice (those will be delish now), and N and L took turns saying POOOOOOP.   
• (One good thing was that someone felt sorry for me...I let her go in front of us and she left $5 for my groceries). 
• On the way out to the car they all FREAK about where they are going to stand on the cart (since I checked out and the cart is now full, not in my bag anymore)...resulting in L throwing himself on the ground in the MIDDLE of the road in the parking lot with cars waiting. 

I miss my babies.  And in just a few years I will miss this age too. 

In memory of Mom

We like to go out to eat in memory of Mom around the time she died and/or around he birthday.  We go places that she loved, which typically include Red Lobster, Hacienda, or Steak n Shake.  This year we chose Steak n Shake.  We combined our trip with a trip to Walmart to get new tires on the van.  (Sidenote: occasionally it really is a pain to have only one car that fits the entire family.)  We dropped off the van and traipsed across the huge parking lot to the Steak n Shake on the other side. 

YUM. 

The boys were super cute in their hats, and sat so well while waiting.  Nate had to make (four!) fold up car toys, so that probably helped their patience...they stared down Daddy making them then happily played :) We all loved the shakes...and I got a Frisco Melt (Mom's favorite!). 

We toted them all back across the lot to get the van, complete with new tires, and I tried to get a shot of all 4 of them then.  Glad to have new tires...the biggest pain was that the next morning we all loaded up to go to Bible study and the battery had died.  15 hours earlier, and they could have done it all at once, but no...so we spent an hour plus the next morning wandering around Walmart.  Good times.  ;) 

 

Library

I've got about 5 posts of pictures to put in here...in fact, I think that several of the pictures are already uploaded, and I just need to do some writing.  It has been hard to write recently.  Not that we have been super busy...not that we haven't been doing anything...not that there isn't anything to say...  I think my creative brain has kind of dulled a bit for the time, probably due to lack of practice (since I haven't been writing), and also due to the fact that there is too MUCH to say, and I can't get it all in, so I just resort to writing nothing.  Anyway, that is not what this post is about.  It is about the library, clearly, as I already wrote on the title, but have not actually written about yet. 

Wow. Tangent. 

Have I mentioned how much we love the library?  Over the past few months we have fallen into a weekly routine there.  We always check out a movie or two, and they are due back a week later, so we HAVE to go return it.  The boys are getting to be so good in the library.  They still don't remotely understand the "shhhhh" factor, but we're getting there.  We go on Monday mornings, right when they open, so it isn't very crowded.  They know that they can dig through 3 things:  the movies, the board books, and the paperback early readers.  All 3 of these are not really in order.  I don't let them near the actual shelves...that would be chaos. They just pull the books/movies out and look through all of them, and I can just pick them all up and put them back in the right container.  I have been able to really scan the shelves and find good books for us to take home.  Z has been learning to look for the books he likes, and knows what sections to look in for "his" books.  The library ladies all know us (we're hard to NOT know), and are kind to us and helpful. 

I think we currently have 28 books out.  A book for me (I was reading Huck Finn for a book club), a few preschool teaching books (I had grand plans of doing a letter a week starting after Labor Day, we haven't even started), movies for the kids, read aloud books for Z (we got a Boxcar Children book and 2 Magic TreeHouse books for him today), books for Z to practice reading (a first reader on ducks, another about Cars), craft books for Z (currently they are Halloween magazines, and today he found a book on Star Wars crafts you can make), random books the boys pull out (Thomas the Train-I won't be reading that and a Wizard of Oz flip book), and read aloud books for the boys that I choose (currently some we have are The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Go-Go Gorillas). 

Part of Z's homework is to be read to/read at least 5 days for 10 minutes.  We typically read 20-25 minutes every night after the littles are in bed and before he goes to bed.  I LOVE to read with him.  And he really likes it too.  I normally make him practice a bit by reading an easy book (Go Dog Go) or his "books" that get sent home from school, then I will read to him. 

I read to the little boys normally twice a day.  Once before naptime and once before bedtime.  Depending on how much time we have and my attitude, I let each kid pick one or two (or if I'm in a really good, patient mood, THREE!) books.  When it is time for their book, they get to sit on my lap, while the other two sit on either side of me.  Z sometimes joins us too, and he sits next to one of the boys.  They do a pretty good job listening.  I sometimes get annoyed with their book choices (over and over and over again!), but I know it is good.  I get a bit claustrophobic, too...3 kids climbing on me, pushing and shoving to see the pictures, pointing at pictures...it is hot...ugh.  But they love it.  In fact, that is the comment I hear most often (or see most often) when I pick them up from Sunday school or Bible study, "Wow, your boys love to read!".  Give them a lap and a book and they are in heaven!

And me, well, I read when I can.  A few weeks ago I was able to read an entire Jodi Picoult book in about 30 hours.  I started one night, and the next morning the boys literally entertained themselves for about two and a half hours while I read.  Crazy (but wonderful!).  I have been in a book club and we have been reading classics:  Huck Finn, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, 1984, etc.  It has been fun, and I have loved reading some of those books. 

I guess I had some words built up.  ;)  That is our house and reading!

Japanese Festival

We decided to go to the Japanese Festival on Labor Day.  It was a beautiful day!  And the water lillies are unbelievable this time of year.  I love to see all the different plants there when they are at their best. 

The kids did great.  We made at least 3 trips to the bathroom, I think more, but there were no accidents.  It was very crowded, and let me tell you how fun it was to haul 3 boys into the bathroom.  I must have sounded like a fool:  "Ok, C, climb up.  Now push it down.  Push it down!  Don't spray!  N, don't flush!  L, stop with the tp.  Good job, C!  Now you can flush.  No, L, not you, C gets to flush.  N, get off the floor!  C, let me pull up your pants.  L, now your turn.  C, you can't leave yet!  N, get out of the bag!  C, you can't flush again.  Good job, L.  (And on and on!)"  And then we all 3 came traipsing out.  Lovely. 

Z got to make an origami crane.  He sat down and chose that one.  The girl insisted that it was the hardest one, but he was set.  She tried to talk him into some easier ones, but he wanted that crane.  :) He did a good job on it though.

Z also got to play some drums, and all the boys played with some tops.  We watched the sumo wrestlers (which was pretty fun!).

The boys ran thru the Climatron and played for a bit in the Children's Garden, but it was pretty crowded.  They were mostly content to just kind of run around and see what was going on.  I was just glad to get out of the house. 

 

Playtime

The boys have turned a new corner in their play, and it has made my life so much easier!  I have taken off the gate to the basement, they can go outside to the backyard by themselves, and I have started leaving their bedroom door open.  I have begun to trust them in Z's room (as long as he is ok with it), so they can play in there.  They literally can go anywhere in the house (but not our room!). 

This gives them so much more freedom, and gets them out from under my feet.  C loves to play outside, so he sometimes will just go out on his own to play with the trucks.  L and N have become two peas in a pod, so they just run around talking to each other and it is SO STINKIN CUTE.  Z has been really good with them as well, and I often hear him say "C'mon, boys, let's go ______".  This is not to say that there are not fights, but it has just gotten easier in some ways.  This morning I even TOOK A SHOWER while they were all awake and not even watching a show...they were just playing in the basement.  And all hell did NOT break loose!

The boys favorite things to do are to play with Legos (either Z's small ones or the duplos), trucks/cars/dump trucks, Cars cars (Lightning, Mater, etc), and "cards".  We have some abc cards and some number cards made of hard construction paper type stuff (kind of indestructable) and they love to collect them and carry them around.  They take these toys all over and happily play.  It is pretty unbelievable.  I kind of love it.  But then I sometimes (SOMETIMES) feel kind of bad/guilty/lazy because I feel like I should be doing more with them...but they just don't need me the same way they used to.  They don't need constant supervision so they don't kill themselves/each other.  They don't need me all the time to play "with" them since they have learned to play on their own.  Very strange.  Clearly, they still need me...but differently. 

Z made them all "Indian" headbands while they put beads on pipecleaners.  (Doesn't this make me look like a good mom, crafting with my kids?)

These next few were during potty training boot camp, so they are in just undies. 

At first glance I thought L was happily smiling at me in this picture...but he was not.  That is a scream because N must have stolen his Lego.  See, I still have to do some referreeing. 

Z has been obsessed with Ninjagos.  Boys.  Sigh.  I have no clue what they really are, or who they are, or what they do, but he has them.  Guess who else likes them, if they can get close enough to them? 

 Z was playing computer games and the little boys were all enthralled.  Again, during potty training.  I didn't care WHAT they did as long as they weren't peeing on the floor. 

 Z has learned in school that there are several ways to read.  I can only think of 2 right now (but I think there are 3?) :  reading the words and reading the pictures.  He has taken to reading the pictures, and he likes to read to the boys.  I do not object to that at all! 

The boys love to play in their peapods now that I have opened up their room.  Here N is grinning out of his.  I have gone in their room to find 2 or even all 3 of them (and sometimes even Z!) in the one bed.  They pull trucks and toys in, and kick out their blankets.  The peapods have been an AMAZING purchase, but I am fairly certain that they will not hold up to my kids well enough to re-sell! 

   

Want a ride?

Oh, this makes me worried for the future! 

Outside

We have had a few opportunities to be outside in the midst of the rain, tornados, heat waves and freezing days. 

 Love love love this picture!