Almost forgot...

Ha!  I almost forgot my password to log into my account.  It's been that long since I've posted!  I haven't had a whole lot to say, life has been stressful, life has been busy and on and on.

And then sometimes I think I have a whole lot to say and then think, well, it's not really anything really.

The boys are at the football game (which I just looked at online and looks like we won't walk away with the win tonight.  So sad; we were undefeated until today), there is banana bread in the oven, the girls are wearing tutu's and dress up shoes and dancing around the house...and no one has had dinner.  It's 7:04pm.  Kids are normally in bed at this house by 7:04pm.  But it is Saturday afterall and all of us were at the football game earlier.  The girls don't last much past halftime so we came home early.

I just checked on the bread.  It looks amazing!  I think I've made banana bread maybe 3x in my life.  I'm thinking maybe we should have it more often as it has made the house smell wonderfully delicious.  I think we'll have eggs, toast, and banana bread for dinner.   I love breakfast for dinner.  So do the kids.

I've been reading a lot lately.  The last two books I've read though had people die in them which I wasn't expecting and found myself a little unsettled.  Usually I know if that sort of thing is coming and here I just didn't.  Not that I've made it any better this next time around.   I'm reading a Jodi Picoult book.  Her topics are always so heavy but I still love reading them.

Here are the girls in all their dress up glory.

Not a nice and tidy put together post tonight.  Just something to get out there so ya'll know we're still here.  Enjoy the rest of the fall colors!

Summer Runnin'...

Summer Runnin'

Had me a blast

Summer Runnin'

Happened so fast

I'd start my runs under the sun

sweatin' it out to be number one

Ohh, ah, on a suumer night...

So my summer runs are over.  No more hot, humid weather to sweat it out in.  At least while on a run.  Summer is my favorite season of the year; kids are home, weather is hot and lots of time to play.  One of my favorite things to do is run in the sun.  Not the hot afternoon sun beating hard on my face but the after dinner sun still up in the sky but less likely to fry.  :)

We had a nice routine going where Jim would come home from work, I'd have dinner ready, have a quick bite, let it settle and head out.  The humidity is still there, the sun still warm, the need for water still high.  Such a great little route with water fountains along the way and my favorite spot was getting water on a little corner, splash my face and hands and be on my way up the hill, face in the sun, refreshed from my water.

Don't you love working hard?  Pushing yourself just a little bit further?  Wearing a shirt that's covered in sweat?  Stinking?  Summer running memories is what keeps me going on the blah days.  The ones where you just don't really know what to do with yourself.  Summer will come around again.  Until then, I'll take the runs on the cool 70-80 degree days we've been having.

{Oh, and the kids are still up early and ready to go.  I thought that would've passed by now.  At least I don't have to shoo them out the door}

{just yet}

My dear one...

{first day of third grade}

A penny for those thoughts?

What do you think?

Well, let's see.

Kids up at 6:30am.

Dressed and eating breakfast by 7:00am.

(inlcuding backpacks)

School starts at 8:10am.

I'd say they were a bit eager.

What do you think?

{by the way on the first day of school parents can come into the building and walk kids to classrooms.  When it was time to leave Sara was grabbing onto the door frame.  She didn't want to leave.  Who's going to tell her she's got two more years before she can go to school with the big kids?}

Summer...it ain't for the faint of heart.

That is for sure.  For summer to run smoothly and be successful there is a lot of work involved.  I am sure this looks different to every family but for us it looks like;

*signing up for the summer reading program at the library and attending free programs that they offer
*going to VBS
*playing soccer
*taking swim lessons
*summer camp on campus
*weekly themes (we had success with bugs, frogs, rainbows, plugged in, and space)

and that's just the programming part of summer.  Those are the fun things.  (We typically do not do programs during the school year so for me it's a lot of fun to be involved in something during the summer even if it means a lot of driving)

The tougher things are the everyday things.

A trip to the grocery store usually sounds like this...

everybody out of the van. yes you have to come in.  everybody out of the van.
yes, you can sit in the cart.  no you cannot sit in the back.  because that is where the groceries go.
stop hanging on the cart.
watch out for other people. stay to the right.
can you stop dancing now? keep your body still.
stop hanging on the cart.
everyone move forward.
you need to stand by me.  come here.
wait until we get home.

:) ha!  those are all things I say at the grocery store!  That goes for our Target runs too.

I will not miss having to take all three on errands, but I will miss having all three at home with me.  They fight a lot but we've tried to use this summer as a way to teach them to share, take a breath and get perspective.  Not an easy task for any aged child but part of the life lessons we're trying to instill.

The reward comes when one of the kids acts on what you've been trying to teach and you rejoice, thinking, yes!, they did it! they did it! 

So tomorrow it's 'back to the daily grind' as they say.  Getting kids up early and out the door ain't for the faint of heart either.  Big sigh just thinking about it.  Oh well, though.

We've had a terrific summer and tomorrow we'll dive right into fall.

Fall!  I can't hardly believe that. 

Happy school year to you.

So many good ones...

So many fun birthday pictures were taken last week that I can't possibly post them all.  But I will say I'm seriously considering putting up a giant (or a few lined up) bulletin board in my living room to fill with pictures.  Right now it seems like a good idea and a fun way for the kids to see them all on a daily basis.  And it may fulfill my desire to live in my own picture museum.

mmmm....

I acutally got the idea when I saw someone's very large bulletin board on the curb for pickup.  Since the small but powerfull flood that came through last week many a neighbor has had belongings hoisted to the curb for pickup.  All things damaged by water in flooded basements.  And when I saw that bulletin board, well, it got me thinking. 

In the meantime, we've got two older kids in the house this week.  Back to back parties, lots of friends and way too much cake!  But lots of fun pictures to enjoy.

The day was hot; water was a must if I was going to keep these kids happy outside!

How many m&m's do YOU think are inside?

Who doesn't love to make their own sundae?

Fill sponge at one end of the yard, race to measuring cup, squeeze water into bowl...

and dash back to tag your teammate so he/she can go.  First team to 4 cups wins~

Our dining room wall that I put together in March including Ella Jane's birthday banner that I made for her party...

using bias tape from my great grandma.  I love that it is all handstitched.

Matthew's birthday banner using fabric from my childhood.  My mom has a fabulous collection!

 His and hers party favors~

Thanks to my friend Alice who let me use her sewing machine to make one of these lovelies!

There are jelly beans inside that raspberry jar for the girls to guess how many are inside.

All in all a busy few days but oh so fun to get ready for.  I love getting ready for a party.  Jim has one coming up soon and we usually don't do much since we've just come off the kids' birthdays but that may have to change this year.  

Midwest Summers = Hot & Humid + Rosy Cheeks, Sweaty Bodies & Lemonade

It's hot here this week.

I'm not sure why she's looking down.  And she's a spy.  She is wearing all of her spy gear.

                           

I took these in front of the refrigerator on purpose in order to capture this moment in time.  This is what it looks like right now.  I've been trying to think of everyday mundane things to photograph for the future.  My kids will look back on them and it may (or may not) evoke certain memories.  Some of my favorite photos include the ones that are taken in rooms with toys strewn about.  I like to see what's been going on in the background.  That to me reveals the everyday life of the family. 

{We dry our clothes outside in the good weather and over the vent during the long cold winters.  Some of the pictures in the sunroom include the dry rack on purpose so that I can remember what was going on during that particular season.  It's fun to see and old favorite shirt or a pair of pants that have been outgrown.}

But anyway, back to the weather.  Yes, it's definitely hot here.  I filled up our pool just yesterday and the water is (no kidding) actually warm.  Like too warm to be refreshing.  With hose water and normal hot summer days it'll stay cool all week but because of the humidity and high temps. it's been warming up quickly!

Looks like we're back to nightly showers to clean off these hot sweaty little bodies.

I saved the princess last night...

Oh, it's so very late and my kids are in the bath...at 10:43pm!  We've had a wonderful evening with friends and let the kids stay up late running around getting all sweaty.  I think the girls have been in the tub for maybe 45min.  Their water is probably cold by now.  But they're up there still playing so I'll see how far I can get down here on this post!

So, yes, I saved the princess last night.  And taking a picture of it is probably what a 12yr. old do but I couldn't resist.  It had to be done.

{A little backstory}

My brother has a NES; the one we grew up with in the 80's and when I was home two months ago now, I had a chance to play and remembered how FUN it was!  So I was quick to search Craigslist for one and voila! turns out they are all over the place.  We bought one and my mom was kind enough to ship it to us.

We've had a LOT of fun playing.  And I've had a LOT of fun going back in time and remembering how to master Super Mario Bros.  I forgot how many secret things there are to be found!  So long story short, I saved the princess and there was a lot of cheering involved.  And Matthew is in awe of my super mad skills on the Nintendo.

{shortly after I started writing, the girls wanted to get out of the tub and off to bed we all went.  It's now the 4th of July and we're spending a quiet day at home after our ruckus evening of  playtime with friends.}

Do you remember back to when you were a kid and played different made up games with your friends?  But before you played you had to establish the ground rules?  And by doingso you spent at least 15min. arguing over what those rules were going to be?

My kids got to do that last night and it was so funny listening to 6 little voices trying to be heard at once.  I just stayed in the background while they hashed it out.  The game had something to do with everyone running and/or riding some sort of bike or scooter.

If you look closely you can see all six kids here running down the hill and into our driveway. 

The night was a big hit with everyone.

Lastly, the ice cream truck came down our street for the first time this summer (at 5:00 on the dot I might add...who buys their kids ice cream when dinner is about to be served?)  Me apparantly.  I remember getting a treat from the ice cream man once (maybe twice) as a kid and thought this might just be the year to do that for my kids.  So out to the street we went and orderd up some ice cream! 

Sara chose bubble gum, Ella Jane, Tweety Bird and Matthew, Sonic.

Happy 4th to you all!