Go Figure!

Jack on our back hill in 2004

Getting my children up for school is no easy task. When they say, "Just a few more minutes Mom", I feel for them. I too, have trouble dragging myself out of bed. I don't like to nag them, pull off their covers, turn on their lights or get frustrated with them. I don't like to but I sometimes do.

Today is a Professional Development Day for their teachers so my children got to stay home. Hoping to be able to sleep in this morning and planning ahead, I let them all stay up an hour past their normal bedtime last night. In theory, they should sleep in an hour or so more in the morning, right? WRONG!

My children were all up by 6:30 AM! This is a half hour earlier than I normally wake them up for school! How can this be? I don't think they have gotten themselves up for school this entire school year so far!

Now here's the good news:

Jack made me breakfast this morning and came to tell me at about 6:30 AM. I expressed my appreciation for his thoughtfulness and then told him that I would really like to sleep a little longer. Could he feed my bowl of oatmeal to Ethan instead?

Jack willingly agreed. In fact, he took care of Ethan and Joshua until 8:00 AM when Ethan decided he really wanted me and I told Jack it was okay to let him in my room. I put Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (the only show Ethan watches) on in my room and slept on and off for another hour while Ethan climbed on me, throwed pillows at me and then started asking for a drink.

I finally dragged my lazy bones out of bed and expressed my sincere appreciation to Jack, my nine year old son who let me sleep. What a sweet boy!

First Day of School

Well, Jack and Abby are off to school for another great year! They both love school. I must say, I love having my children home for the summer but the quiet I enjoyed today in my home was quite nice.

Abby started First Grade today so she received her Schultuete! Being able to continue our German traditions is so much fun! John created this cone for Abby. Isn't he awesome?

Jack just started Fourth Grade!
Joshua... well... he could be starting preschool in October if only he would decide to be potty-trained!

Ethan just likes to wear the extra cone we made on his head and walk around the room! I have had trouble catching him on camera though but I hope to get a better shot or even a video to share with you soon!

Jack Got His First Power Tool!

Well, I decided that it was time Jack learned how to use a weed eater! John can use all of the help he can get. Those of you that have seen our yard know what I'm talking about. We live on a hill that requires more cutting with the weed eater than the lawn mower. I researched weed eaters and found a cheap one that is only 6 pounds. Sure you have to plug it in but Jack only weighs 47 pounds so I didn't want it to be too heavy. He did a great job his first day and loves his new toy! He actually likes helping John in the yard-- he always has and I hope he always will. : )

Thanks for the help Jack!

Making the Girls Go Wild!

Jack told me that he should be on a commercial for school supplies. He said that if Walmart ran a commercial with him wearing his backpack and giving a wink, all of the girls would automatically run to Walmart to buy their school supplies!

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Jack's ninth birthday was on June 18th. The Saturday before his birthday, Abby spent hours making him a Happy Birthday banner. She first made one on the computer and then because John and I were "too busy" to print it she decided to use the craft area to make her creation. Then on his birthday she made him a crown that said "I Love Jack". She was being so sweet and John and I were sad that Jack was being so mean to her Saturday and here she was secretly making things for his birthday!

We have a family party on their odd birthdays so this was a family party. Jack had very specific requests for his birthday. He wanted homemade pizza for dinner, a Sam's Club cake with blue frosting and these gifts:

a box of paper clips
a box of rubber bands
clothespins
Lego Indian Jones for the DS
A compass
Legos

I have to wonder about his plans for the first three gifts. His Nana bought him the DS game and the compass and we got him the rest.

For family birthday parties, we always hide the wrapped gifts and then John writes clever clues for each one. For example: If ye be seeking pirate swag, Look ye where every man stows his bag! The kids really look forward to this part of their birthdays .

Ethan was so tired that by the end he could hardly keep his eyes open. He did perk up a little after the cake though! Speaking of cake, I told John he could take the rest to work on Friday. We would never be able to eat the whole thing! I let the children know that from now on family parties have family made cakes. : )

Don't Forget National Teacher Day!

National Teacher Day is tomorrow, May 6th.

I appreciate all of love and dedication my children's teachers give them!

Abby's teacher Mrs. Baggett is a wonderful, caring teacher. She was Jack's teacher too and will be retiring after this year. I am sad that my other children won't be able to be in her class. She is a teacher who continues to squeeze in a lot of fun activities even with the pressures of No Child Left Behind and the Virginia Standards of Learning. She is always teasing the children and making them laugh. Mrs. Baggett is the perfect teacher for getting Kindergarteners on track for loving school! Jack and Abby both love her and I love her too!

Jack's teacher Mr. Wills is a very hard-working, truly dedicated teacher. John and I were so happy to learn that Jack would have one teacher for all of his classes this year because Mr. Wills teaches all of the highest groups! Last year, it was hard for Jack to switch between teachers and get right back on task. It was also hard for me to communicate with so many teachers! (He had five teachers last year in second grade. Isn't that crazy!?!) John, Jack and I immediately loved Mr. Wills when we met him on Meet the Teacher Night and were so excited for this new year. Mr. Wills in one of those teacher who is often caught working in his classroom hours after his contract time. He also leads a drama club after school that Jack plans to join next year. He helps Jack stay on task and Jack has been completing all of his classwork on time. Yeah! I need to start praying now for another teacher like Mr. Wills next year. I told Jack to ask Mr. Wills if he will switch to fourth grade next year. : )

I plan to show my appreciation by giving them some very rich Frosted Brownies with a note of appreciation from me and one from my child. I also plan to give Frosted Brownies to various other teachers and assistants who work with my children--PE Teacher, Music Teacher, Mrs. Baggett's Assistant, etc.

Don't forget your child's teacher!

Another update! Read Previous Post 1st!

Well, Jack is throwing up again and must be picked up. Mind you he is at least 2 1/2 hours away! My sister is actually going to pick him up and bring him back to Virginia Beach and we will then come up with a plan for getting him home. We will probably meet Christi in Fredricksburg when she is on her way home Sunday. Isn't this crazy!!! Apparently two other children in other classes are throwing up too! It's times like these that I am thankful for our big families! Thanks Christi!!! You're the best Aunt ever!!!

Jack Update! Read Previous Post 1st!

Someone in line actually paid for Jack's new shorts. How cool is that? The only time I ever tried to help pay for something for someone in line was once when the cashier dropped a dime that was supposed to be part of the customer's change. The lady would not leave without that dime! I had my boys with me and I couldn't believe we were standing and standing there because of a dime. They kept looking and looking and then the cashier just gave the lady a blank stare. I finally said something like, "How about I give you a dime?" She said, "No, it's okay." Then looked for the dime for another few seconds before leaving. I do really believe in the pay it forward idea though. So I plan to pay this good deed forward!

A Mother's Bad Call!

Have you ever made a judgment call you regretted later?

Jack's class had their big field trip today. The one they talk about all year! They took charter buses to Jamestown which is about 2 1/2 hours from here. Well, this morning Jack woke up excited but then said he didn't feel very well. He said he might even throw up. He got really upset about the possibility of missing the trip. I took his temp which was only 98.4 and told him to eat breakfast and see how he feels. Now, we woke him up almost 2 hours earlier than usual and when I wake up really early, I usually feel a little queasy. I always have. I can remember as a child, if we got up early to go on a trip, I would often be too nauseous to eat anything. After having a little breakfast and asking for us to say a family prayer for him, he said he was actually feeling better. So, off he went!

About two hours later, I got a call from Mr. Wills. Jack has thrown up all over himself on the bus! Someone driving behind the buses is going to stop to get him a new pair of shorts for today. I am hoping and praying that he got it all out of his system and will feel better for the rest of the day. If not, it looks like Aunt Christi, Nana or his father will be making a trip to Jamestown today!

What could I do? If I kept him home and he didn't turn out to be sick, he would have missed a very special and expensive trip for nothing. He would have been really sad all day. I really thought it was just a morning thing and that he would be fine. No one we know has been sick. But, now I feel really bad for his teacher and the other people on the bus and poor Jack who is sick and not home. I felt like I made a responsible decision until he threw up.

Was it wrong of me to send him?

Fun in the Snow!

Okay, so these pictures are from January and now it is March. I really agree with "Better late than never" in this case so here they are!

We all played in the snow this day. My children were excited about me coming out because last year I was pregnant and didn't go out much. Why bother if you can't go sledding at top speed down the hill just to throw yourself off of the sled before it goes over the drop off and into the woods???

This was Ethan's first time in the snow! He really enjoyed it and smiled a lot. When my other children were first introduced to the snow, they were curious but didn't really smile and eventually cried to go back inside. Ethan stayed outside for at least twice as long as the others did as babies.

He even let us lay him down in the snow and help him make a snow angel!

We actually didn't get much snow this winter and the children are disappointed. Abby keeps commenting on the lack of snow and I'm sure I'll continue to hear about it for a few more months or even until next winter!

At least they didn't lose any of their Spring Break like they usually do. My parents are going on a cruise for Spring Break so we are staying home the whole time. We hope to go bowling as a family on the discount day.

Fun, fun, fun!

Three Boys in a Room!

Ethan has been sleeping in his Papasan swing since he was born because it was the only way he would sleep well. His doctor told me it was perfectly fine to keep him sleeping in the swing but that now might be a good time to try moving him to his crib before he gets more stubborn.

I wasn't expecting it to go very smoothly but he has done very well! His crib is in the same room as his two older brothers so it is a little tricky.

We have been putting Joshua and Ethan to bed at the same time. Joshua turns on his aquarium music and Ethan will just lay there listening to it until he falls asleep. I can actually leave him in his crib AWAKE!!! He usually sleeps from 8:30 PM to 5:00 AM. What a good little baby!