Gulp

Do you have ANY idea how many times Caroline wore this set last fall?!?! About a zillion. It was her favorite set. I KNOW I didn't pay any where NEAR that for it new. Gulp. I (heart) Ebay.

Bento Baby!

In addition to sending Amelia off to kindergarten and Greta to preschool, I have embarked on a another new adventure this fall. Bento lunches! What are bento lunches? They are based on Japanese box lunches that are made with yummy things like fish, eggs, seaweed, and rice. They are lunch boxes that divide into little compartments. This blog is a great overview of Bento lunches and I'm getting lots of inspiration from her! The idea is to send your kids with something more nutritious and to cut down on waste. It's GREEN! I know what you are thinking~who kidnapped Jen and replaced her with a tree-hugger?! I'm all about cutting down on waste if it saves me money. Less ziplocs to buy more cash for. . .um. . .the Gap?So here's Amelia's for today~ham chunks and colby-jack chunks, whole grain crackers, grape tomatoes with ranch dressing, one lone baby carrot, 3 organic oreos (do not laugh), and a small bag of pretzels for snack time. They eat one snack outside so it has to be in a disposable container.

Caroline's was a bit funner! She has Granny Smith apple slices, sliced mozzarella cheese, & whole grain crackers. She made these into little sandwiches which are super good! She also has grape tomatoes and organic oreos.

And They Are GONE!

I won't re-write my same post from the past 2 years. You can read them here and here. Nothing new to report this year except we did have our first case of nerves. Amelia melted down during the lay-hands-on-the-teacher-and-pray portion of the Open House last night. There was no stinkin' way she was going to TOUCH some person. Oh well. She'll do well in the CRC.

So here's the pics of the morning.

Scaling Back

One of the greatest things about being a mom of school-age kids is that you get to do the New Year's Resolution thing 3 times. For me, the start of a new school year is about as blank slate as you can get. So here I sit starting 180 days in the face and trying to re-vamp yet again. What do I want to do this fall? How do I want things to go? What are my goals? Why do I think in Dr Phil's voice? I have literally lost sleep trying to organize my thoughts and plans. I struggled with answering the questions "What do I want our family to be like? How do I get there? What is standing in the way that can be altered?" Here's what Dr Phil's voice said.

1. I want our home to be warm and peaceful. Not necessarily quiet but peaceful.
2. I want our house to be organized and have routines that are well-run.
3. I want our marriage to be strong and to work with our personalities and not try to be the couple we are not.
4. I want our kids to love being at home and want to bring their friends here.
5. I want to parent my kids not just react to them.

So now that I figured out what I want I needed to figure out how to get there and what was blocking it. I have come to this stunning conclusion. I have too much on my plate. Many are great and wonderful things. Church things. Things other moms can easily do without disruption to their families. Things I enjoy. These are things that are keeping me from being the mom I want to be. One example? Feeding these people. I love to cook and nutrition is a passion of mine. (As is double cheeseburgers but that's another post!) I rarely cook a big meal b/c I am so busy doing A, B or C that I'm too tired or we get home just in time to throw a pizza in the oven. Some things can't budge. Tim's work schedule has no flexibility. The kids have to go to school. So what goes? Everything else that I don't love. That leaves Ebay and Bible study. I love doing Ebay. It provides me a "thing" that is all my own and lets me shop! It also covers a big chunk of our tuition so Ebay will continue! My Tuesday Bible study at church is also great. I love the study and time with grown-ups. Everything else? Gone. I need to be at home. Period. I can not accomplish the goals I want by doing 700 other things at once. While driving.

So as we start this new school year I have to be prepared to say "No." "I'm sorry, but now isn't a good time for me." "Thanks for thinking of me, but I really have to pass." While I understand lots of other moms can do 700 things at once and do them well, I can't. I'm done trying.

Jose Cuervo Would Have Stuck His Landing

We are down here in Hilton Head having a swell time! We have swam (or is it swum?) til we're prune-y, eaten copious amount of food, had Happy Hour every day, and gone to see the jerk under the tree. Last night was a first for us. We went on our first Adults Only dinner and followed it up with Adults Only games~not THOSE games. . .get your mind out of the gutter. We had a bottle of tequila and a few limes and Olympic womens gymnastics. What a great combo. When the US women stuck their landings, we drank. When the Chinese women fell, we drank. By the end of the bottle, we drank cuz we liked the Russian girl's leotard and b/c Tim Daggett said "Beautiful body line." too many times. We might try it with swimming tonight.

Dude, She's OLD

Happy birthday to my beloved oldest daughter! Caroline is 10 today. Eek. I am old. 10 is old. I REMEMBER being 10. It involved a lot of back talk and singing of Barbara Mandrell songs. She has spent much of the day complaining about how much her birthday sucks. We are leaving on vacay in a few days so I'm doing laundry, cleaning, packing, ect. She is PO'd that the rules of the house still apply and she is not the queen of the world. All in all, she's a sweet kid who is developing the life skills of shopping and golf. She's also a crazy White Sox fan. . .she actually shed tears last week out of fear that her beloved Nick Swisher might get traded. So happy birthday Caroline Rebekah. You've got 8 more years of free-loading and then you're out on your ear.

Amelia-isms

Our lovely second daughter Amelia is what my grandma would call "full of the dickens." She just spouts off whatever comes to mind. Out loud. At that moment. Here's a few of her most recent gems.

Upon hearing an organ for the first time in a traditional CRC
"MOMMY! WHAT is that NOISE?!?!"

Upon opening her birthday present from Aunt Seana and Uncle Jeff
"I am the luckiest girl in the world."

At our family reunion she got a pin with her name on it and picture of her Great Great Grandma on it. She walks up to the hostess of the reunion and says,
"This is my grandma who is dead."

Is It Just Me?

• who goes to bed thinking about what I get to eat tomorrow?
• who is finally sick of Jon and Kate + Eight?
• who wishes summer was less busy?
• who has a drink after VBS?
• who checks the radar every 20 minutes in case a storm cell develops? Oh wait. That's not me~that's my husband.
• who hates Wal Mart but loves Target?

Friday Fun

As a corollary to the Hair Metal, here is a fun QUIZ. I got all 10 correct. I think I am embarrassed to admit that.

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE BEST HAIR METAL BANDS
1. Def Leppard
2. Poison
3. Warrant
4. Winger
5. Guns N Roses~~I hesitate to include them since they really aren't "hair metal"

FIVE THINGS I MISS ABOUT MY HIGH SCHOOL SUMMERS
1. My thighs
2. Hiding in the dining room to talk on the phone since there were no cordless phones!
3. Cheerleading camp
4. Cruising Bremen mall to pick up boys from the public high school (gasp!)
5. Seeing every movie that came out

FIVE THINGS I MISS ABOUT CAROLINE
(She's away at camp this week.)
1. Having another non-toddler in the house.
2. My gopher
3. Someone to share my excitement over the new fall clothes popping up online.
4. Her sweet willingness (well, most of the time!) to help her sisters
5. Her chores being done. I have had to unload the dishwasher all by myself! :-)

The Boy is One

This was the little peanut last year. SO teeny and cute cute cute! Wyatt Nathan was only
5 lbs 2 oz and 17 inches long~the smallest of all my babies. It is a miracle that he has survived his sisters' "love" for an entire year. To read all about his birth story GO HERE.

Here is the big boy now. Of course he is nowhere near walking or even standing alone but his sisters were late to that party too. He crawls faster than I can run and screams like a girl. He was a great eater but lately has been on a hunger strike. I don't know if he's protesting high gas prices or lack of cheeseburgers for each meal but he eats like a bird. I'm not too worried since as Aunt Kim says, "Well, he can live off his own fat for a few days."

And so with this picture you can see my first boy mom dilemma (well, other than my constant worry that his boy part doesn't look "right") What to do with his hair? It is starting to get long and girly looking. As my ever-hip dad said, "That's the way the kids are wearing it these days." I am aware of the return of surfer/skater hair for boys but Wyatt has no curl or wave. Just stick straight locks. I really want to trim it so he can sport a faux hawk or at least get some product in there to wave it up. Hmmm. . . .

Here's one picture of Wyatt opening a present from Grandpa and Grandma up at the lake. He was pretty interested in the whole operation but his sisters were much more into stealing his toys and fighting over them. Ah, the story of his life. He will have a party at the end of this month that he will get to share with 2 of his sisters who also have summer birthdays. Just a small family thing~no ponys or jumper things. I still don't even have a menu.

So to my sweet baby boy Happy First Birthday! We're so glad Amelia hasn't scarred you for life. Yet. We all love you!

Clarifying and De-Junking

First off for today, I want to clarify my last post. I wrote it after reading a magazine article about how kids don't have enough time to play and it got my brain churning. I was truly surprised that "lack of free play time" was a big enough issue that I was reading a magazine article about it. I wasn't trying to be negative about kids being in sports and activities but that's totally how I came off. SO sorry about that. I think sports are GREAT for kids to be involved in and as mine get older I'm sure we will. I was just stating why at this time in our family's life, it doesn't make sense for us, time-wise, financially, and otherwise. I'm not saying we CAN'T afford it, but just that it makes more sense for us to spend our cash on things we can all do together. With 3 little ones, schedule is huge. If we get off kilter for more than a day or two, Mommy pays dearly!

Moving right along, I'm on a quest. I have been reading a lot of labels lately and I'm getting serious about removing junk food from my kids diet. Now, I'm not going crazy and outlawing McDonald's or anything but I want our eating at home to be as healthy as possible so that things we have elsewhere are a treat. My first goal is to remove refined sugar from our house. It is SO much harder than I thought. Sugar is in everything! I have started with the basics~all natural peanut butter, applesauce, yogurt, ect. I am trying to get rid of the high fructose corn syrup type sugars. Some things like dried fruit are higher in sugar but are also high in vitamins and fiber. I'm also trying to keep all processed foods to an absolute minimum. Things like hot dogs, Spaghetti Os, and such.

I want to get some breakfast, lunch and snack ideas for summer and for fall lunch boxes. Breakfast is the easiest but snacks are killing me. Once you get past fruit and veggies there is not much left! We already do things like low fat string cheese and yogurt. The big girls love hummus with whole wheat pita chips.

The other big challenge with healthy eating is the cost. It is more expensive to go all natural for many reasons but so far in my experience, the biggest reason is the removal of generic products from the mix. We go through applesauce like crazy here but only Mott's makes a "No Sugar Added" applesauce so I'm stuck.

So throw some ideas at me! What healthy snacks do your kids love? What healthy options are good for lunch boxes? Do you have budget friendly tips?

If Play Is the Work of Childhood, How Come None of My Kids Gets a Paycheck?

"Children today do not have enough time to play."

"As difficult as it is, we must encourage unstructured free play for our kids."

Am I the only one who finds these quotes a bit, um, nuts?! All my kids DO is play. Not one of 'em did a lick of work today. Not one of 'em earned a paycheck. Not one of 'em did a single thing to earn their place at the dinner table. They are a bunch of free-loaders.

I have never been a joiner-type mom. My girls have never taken dance. No one in our house plays soccer. They wouldn't know a T-ball if it hit them in the face. Gymboree is a store we shop at not a place to have "Mommy and Me" class at. I don't like chaos and all these activities would seem to bring a whole lot of unwanted chaos to my world. I like days at home. I like all my ducks in a row.

My other issue is money. All these things cost lots and lots of cash. I don't want to spend my cash until I am totally convinced that it is something they will truly love and benefit from. Stalin-esque mom that I am, I also require them to kick in some funds for an activity. Yep. Caroline is forking over some of her allowance for this week's golf lessons. I'll probably let 'em hit VBS for free being that it's spiritual enrichment and all that jazz.

So back to unstructured free play. Um, I guess I'm a good mom cuz I spend most of my day saying, "GO PLAY!"

Not a Baby

It's a Garage SALE Not a Garage GIVE AWAY

I survived Day One of my garage sale. Heck, I thrived on Day One! I cleared just under $1000 and I am pretty cleaned out. People were buying things as Tim pulled them out of the basement. My glider that has rocked four babies~2 of whom had reflux~sold as we carried it out the front door. The funnest part was by lunchtime I had people showing up telling me their friends were calling them to come to my sale. Hee, hee. I'm famous.

Lady #1~How much for the glider?

Me~Um, $45?

Lady #1~Sold. Just keep walking it to my truck.

Me~Okie dokie.

The one thing I hate? The barter. I do make offers when I go garage sale-ing. If my pile is $12 I will offer $10. I had a lady this morning and it goes something like this:

Lady #2~Can you add me up? (As she drops about 15 outfits at my feet.)

Me~Sure. Add, add . . .$48.

Lady #2~Will you take $10?

Me~Uh, no. I'll take $45.

Lady #2~Well, all I have is a $20. Will you take $20.

Me~No, I'll take $45. You can come back Saturday afternoon and I might take $30.

Lady #2~Fine. (All huffy.) Here. (shoves $45 at me.)

Evidently, It IS a Toy

My sweet baby boy is a man. He has discovered his winkie. Last week at a routine diaper change, his chubby little hand accidentally ran into the member and The Boy broke into a huge grin. Now any time he can, he shoves both chubby little hands into his Manland to play. He giggles. He squeals with delight. He yanks, pulls, and twists. I get a little green just thinking about it.

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE BEST STORY SONGS
1. Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves~Cher
2. Dead Man's Curve~Jan and Dean
3. Leader of the Pack~Whoever sang it?!
4. Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun~Julie Brown
5. Mr Roboto~Styx

FIVE REASONS I'M GLAD SCHOOL IS OUT
1. I don't have to get dressed til lunchtime.
2. Caroline is here to play with her sisters.
3. It's warm.
4. I don't have to remember to read 900 papers every night.
5. School lunches.

FIVE REASONS I'LL MISS MY BFF WHEN SHE'S GONE
1. Who else will I talk to at 7:30 am?
2. She gets me, man.
3. She doesn't laugh at my strange quirks.
4. She reminds me that my house really isn't that small. :-)
5. She goes shopping with me in the "backroom"

Wearing Her Wooden Shoes

My conversation with Caroline this evening while listening to the Sox game.

Caroline~How many people in baseball are named Cabrera?

Mommy~Lots. In the Spanish speaking world it is like. . .

Caroline~Van Drunen?

Preschoolers and Baseball Do Not Mix

We took the girls to the White Sox game today. THAT was an experience. Some dreams were fulfilled and some went unrequited. Amelia was begging to leave in the top of the 2nd inning and Greta slept from the 4th to the 6th. Yep, you read that right. She slept. Not even Alexsi Ramierez's 3 run shot complete with fireworks could wake her up. It was Kids Day so the girls got to meet some players and get lots of "phonographs" (as Amelia referred to it as!)

Too bad Tim and Wyatt aren't in the pic~this would make a great Christmas card! Well, at least Mark Buehrle and I look good!

You can't see his face but at this moment Caroline's dreams are coming true~Mark Buehrle is signing her jersey! Other girls dream of meeting Miley Cyrus, mine dreams of baseball players. She was positively star struck.Greta on the other hand was not. She asked every player she saw, "Is you Bobby?" Lucky for her, they either laughed or didn't speak English. Unlucky for her, no one could point her to her beloved Bobby.

Ah, the ballpark hot dog. At least Tim got Greta's order of "plain" correct. Somehow my request of "Polish with onions" was heard as "hot dog with mustard." I hate mustard. Always have.

Just plain pre-nap cuteness.

Amelia was true to form. She either loved something or wanted to go home. She cried when she heard AJ wasn't signing today but perked right up when she got a bottle of Gatorade. She was too hot, she was too cold, it was wet, it was boring and on and on and on. . .Nighty, night.

New Summer Resolutions

So tomorrow is the last day of school. Yay! I think. . . I am so excited about sleeping in~if you can call 7:15 sleeping in~and not having to go go go. I am not so sure I want 4 kids in my face ALL. DAY. LONG. This is the first summer in eons that we are FREE! It's been a long time coming! Summers past. . .

2002 My mom died in June so that was kinda a crazy summer.
2003 Amelia was born in June
2004 I found about I was expecting Greta in early June and spent most of that summer puking and sleeping on the couch.
2005 Greta was a teeny baby and I was post-partumly messed up.
2006 We moved in the middle of July.
2007 Wyatt was born in July.

SO 2008 is going to non-stop fun and games! I think. . . This is my solemn vow.

I will take the kids to the library once a week.
I will cook a real dinner 4 times a week.
I will do a fun craft/activity with the girls once a week.
I will say "yes" to more sleepovers.
We will all make our beds every day.
I will make a new chore chart next week. (Stay tuned for that post)
I will put sunscreen on everyone every day!
We will have ice cream for dinner once.
We will play in the sprinkler.
I will make lots of healthy snacks so we don't eat junk all summer.

Check back in Sept. . .