special friends

 friends are something special

 friends are there through good and bad

 even your best kindergarten friends, at graduation

 teachers always share a special place in our hearts

 friends may move away

 but the memories that are made

will last a lifetime

my wildflower

Its amazing how one photo can leave you so speechless.

1st day of school

In Michigan a few years ago there was a law passed that stated the kids didn't start school until after labor day.  We took it easy over the weekend..Had a BBQ with the family, played outside and cleaned the house. 

This year Alanna starts kindergarten and Hannah goes into the 5th grade.  My heart just skipped a beat typing that, lol.  My baby girls are growing up before my eyes. 

I thought I had a handle on Alanna starting school this year but when she walked up the big bus steps, I got a little choked up.  Seeing her with no hesitation in her step and a smile on her face, brought the tears to my eyes. My day was brightened by my baby boy...After we got home from the bus stop he kept saying, "That was cute, mama, that was cute"  I asked him what was cute and he told me...the bus.  :)

After that I had a little bit more spirit to get me through the day so we cleaned up breakfast, put away some laundry, went to the park, grocery shopping, and ate lunch...all before 11:00 am.  On any typical summer day we aren't even dressed before 11 and grocery shopping with 3 kids could take up to 5 hours on any given day, LOL....But with just 1 in tow the time is much faster, or slower depending on how you look at it.

The house is quiet and I miss my girls...Ben keeps asking if the girls are outside and if he can go too.  I try to tell him they are at school, but he just waits by the door for them to come home :(  He wanted to stare at the bus pictures all morning.  He is now down for a nap and its just me...The kitchen is clean, I vacuumed yesterday and all the laundry is put away....sigh.....

I know in a few weeks I will wish for a day like this...quiet, and nothing to do, but for now on the 1st day of school , I will sit and wait for the time to tick by, until its time to pick up my girls from the bus stop this afternoon...tick..tock..tick...tock. 

Catching up Part 3, June

After everything started to calm down and life got back to the "normal" I tried to stay busy so I wouldn't think about much.  I started cleaning the house and before I knew it, the whole laundry room was gutted and cleaned along with several corners in the house.  Alanna's tball games began and they were just as much fun as practice. Until it was time to be in the field, then Alanna would end up on her butt in the rocks playing.  Her coach makes her run the bases for playing in the rocks.  But she enjoys the running, so its a lose situation for the coach, hehe. 

A few weekends later Chris had his company picnic.  The Repo Rodeo, they call it.  There was a clown, bounce house, lots of food, games/prizes and much more.  Chris won second place in the rodeo...The drives had to drive the tow truck through a maze of cones, to a parked car and get the VIN #, then they had to go back and tell the person the VIN # and they were timed...

The kids had a great time.  They loved the balloon animals and the fun prizes they got.  YoYo's, plastic snakes and lots of candy.  The bounce house of course was the favorite.


We also tried spending our days outside to keep busy.  Lots of trips to the park and library over the weeks.  Different parks with friends, and picnics outside. 

 Before we knew it, the end of June was here.  With all the cleaning I had done, we had lots of stuff to donate/sell.  We decided to have a garage sale.  The garage sale was at Chris' dad/stepmoms house and it was ok.  We didn't get a whole lot of traffic, but it got most of the stuff out of the house and the rest was donated.  The money from the garage sale will be enough to redo our master bedroom, and bathroom. 

By the end of June we were so used to being busy that it hasn't stopped yet. 
stay tuned for part 4, July.
part 1 here 
part 2 here

Catching you up, May1-May 23, 2010, part 1

I don't know where to begin.  The last month and a half has been a blur.  So many times I sat down to write and I just couldn't face the truth.  So many thoughts are in my head its hard to push them out on the keyboard.

I guess we can start at the beginning. 

So many things happened in May.
May 1-May 31, 2010
We started out with Tball for Alanna.  It didn't start well and its still going on...not well. She didn't like practice at first because she didn't know anyone.  Then she met a girl Brooklyn and things were going fine.  Alanna loves to bat.  She always hits it on the first try, and she is a FAST runner.  She named herself Alanna "the roadrunner" King in the start of the season.  However she HATES the field.  She gets so bored that she sits on the bench or plays in the rocks.  In reality I don't think baseball is for her and we probably won't do it again...We have a few more games to go and then we are DONE!

Next up in May was Hannah's spring concert.  She was so proud to be up on stage signing with her class.  She said that the songs they were signing was above her 4th grade level and that her teacher Mr V was so proud of them.  Her mommy was proud too...

Hanna's 10th birthday party for her friends came next.  She wanted a sleep over and then we decided to do an ice cream social for the fun activity.  We bought ice cream and then had every ice cream topping you could think of...cherries, whip cream, nuts, sprinkles, bananas, pineapple, chocolate, and even marshmellos...and so much more.  There were about 10 girls here and surprisingly there was no fighting and no crying, hehe. 

The friend party was the weekend before Hannah's actual birthday.  She had no idea about the birthday present I had in store for her.   You see, my mom got this great idea to come visit us in Michigan during Hannah's birthday, and since she would be here for her birthday why not surprise Hannah.  So the plan was Hannah thought my mom, stepdad, stepsister and my nephew Brody would be here in June.  Little did she know that at her birthday party with her friends my mom was in Michigan.  They visited my other step sister and my stepdads mom for the weekend and then when Hannah came home from school on Tuesday my mom called her.  Hannah went into her room "to get some privacy" and then my mom came in the house.  I went and knocked on Hannah's door and told her she had a friend at the door and when Hannah came out....she seen my mom.   She ran so fast and started hugging my mom...Hannah started crying, my mom cried and of course I cried...It was an awesome surprise for Hannah.

The family stayed for the rest of the weekend and then we had to say good bye...It was a great visit and I got to meet my gorgeous little nephew for the first time!!!  ( and if you remember my goals for 2010...meeting Brody is now crossed of the list.)

During the family visiting, Alanna had her last day of preschool.  The kids and teachers put on an ice cream social for the families and then passed out certificates.  Alanna enjoyed preschool so much this year, that all she has been talking about lately is kindergarten.  She tells me that she misses her friends all the time, and hopes to see them in school in the fall.

Well this gets us through May 23.  More events to occur, but they deserve their own post.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of May...May 23-May31, 2010

in the moment

The courage she has amazes me.  Times when my stomach is full of butterflies, she looks at me and tells me its going to be okay, as she walks ahead.

His curiosity is something I've never seen before.  He explores and roams, and learns.  He teaches me to calm down and enjoy the moment.

The innocence she carries with her leaves her high above the rest of us.  She sees the good in everything and teaches everyone around her to enjoy nature and all that it has to offer.

Where would I be 

without these 3?

Alanna, she is growing up!

Today I took my middle child for kindergarten registration.  What better way to describe how I am feeling than with bullets...here we go!

• I am very excited for Alanna to go to kindergarten.  Even though she is what you call a young 5.  Meaning her birthday is in November and the cut off is December 1st.  She will be 4 still when she starts school in the fall, she is so ready for this.  She has had 2 years of preschool so far.  The 1st yr was the homebase preschool where the teacher came to our house 1 day a week and then every other Friday she went to school to play with the other kids.  This year she is center based and goes 4 days a week for half days.  She loves school and is so ready for this
• I am sort of sad because it means another one of my sweet little girls are heading off to school.  I will miss being able to tickle her before her nap time and spending my afternoons with her at my side.  
• I am even more sad that I am not more emotional about this.  When the thought of school came to mind with Hannah I would tear up.  I cried the 1st day of school and half way to work.  I was not ready to let go.  I feel Alanna is getting denied some of that emotional mother on the 1st day of school.  Maybe I will be more emotional when the time actually comes since it is only March right now and it was just registration and not the actual going to school part. 
• I feel silly for wanting to be more emotional (enough said)
• I am so proud of Alanna.  I often think of her as your standard middle child..craving that attention and doing bad things she knows she should not be doing like hitting and biting (sometimes, not often).  Alanna is that child that makes you want to pull your hair out at the end of the day.  But then I sit back and realize she is SO SMART.  She is already doing addition when her and Hannah play school.  She can add any numbers that you give her if they are single digits.  She can already remember words and starting to read.  She remembers things that happened 2 years ago, like our trip to Florida when she was 2.  She has so much energy and is so bright and so smart she amazes me that she is only 4.  I have to remember to look at her in this new light.

Random updates with pictures

I forgot about all the pictures I had on my camera.  Today I was going through it and realized I haven;t shared what we have been doing lately.  A couple weeks ago we went to Joes Crab Shack (and yes if you live in FLORIDA{Mom, Tim} some of you may say yuck, but to us who don't live by the ocean it has to do).

Here is the dessert (ice cream sandwich with fudge, sprinkles and mini M&Ms to put on top..so cute!) Alanna got after she stuffed herself with macaroni and cheese, fries, crab stuffed mushrooms and crab from her grandma Jan's plate. The next picture is Chris eating is hot, steam pot bib and all.  Bed is picking at his plate, but loved his fries.
Some may know a little secret about me and that is I have never been a big fan of seafood.  Its not that I don't like it, its that I never grew up around it and just afraid to eat it.  I have been tasting it here and there when I am feeling brave, and this night I promised myself I would get something other than chicken or steak.  So I got the shrimp and steak..baby steps people!  I got the coconut shrimp with the pineapple plum sauce.  IT WAS AMAZING!  I ate all my shrimp before one bite of steak and wanted more shrimp.  I didn't even want my steak after that.  Now all I can think about is coconut shrimp.

Last week I took the kids to get some much needed hair cuts.  I was tired of getting Bens hair trimmed and then a week later he needed it again, so I opted for a big boy hair cut.  He looks so much older.  Its so sad seeing my baby grow up.  But I LOVE running my fingers through his new short hair..and I can spike it and that is adorable!

And then what would St Patty's Day be without some pictures of the kids. wearing green.  Ben is showing so much of his personality in these pictures, it makes my heart sink.  Alanna too, look at those big goofy grins. I am so proud to be mommy to these kids :)