Nov Update

Sheesh, has it really been so long since I've blogged?  Yikes, I'm not sure where all the time has gone.  I'd love to say I've done a million things but that wouldn't be true....I've done a million and one.  LOL

Last week the kids didn't have school on Friday due to Parent/Teacher conferences.  It also happened to be the same week that 2 of Gabby's best friends in her grade & class moved away & they were not related to each other.  One of her friends moved to Gladstone so they will still be able to play together & see each other once in awhile & the other one moved further away in WI.  I am beyond bummed that she lost both of her best friends in the same week, just a day apart.  So sad for her, especially since she is so shy in the first place & has had these friends since Kindergarten.  She even asked me if I thought that she'd make some new friends quickly.  I told her it depends on how open she is & how open a new friend is.  Friendships take time to grow.  She's actually been praying that she'll find a new friend who is a Christian.

Back to the conferences & how they went...I showed up & dropped Gabby & Braly off in the gym.  (The school thought it would be a good idea to allow the parents to see how AR (accelerated reading) tests work so they had crates of books set up in the gym/cafeteria so that the kids could read while parents were in conferences, then parents could read & watch the kids take the tests on the computers.  My kids got extra time to read since theirs were back to back.  They had each read a few books by the time I joined them.)

First I had Gabby's meeting.  She is such a bright girl, she's kind, helpful, sweet, caring, respectful, etc the teacher told me.  And she takes school very seriously.  She had an A- in math (she always tells me she's not good at math) & the rest were As.  How could I be anything but pleased & impressed right?   She's currently at 51.4% if her AR goal & they just finished their 1st marking period so she's doing awesome.  She loves to read & is quite good at it.  She says her favorite thing is recess because she likes to do tricks on the spider.  It's a large dome that is made of many bars in triangles & she loves to hang like a monkey & do tricks.  She also enjoys History, mostly American & Michigan History.  She grasps the information quickly & remembers it so studying for her tests is fairly easy.  She excels at spelling too since she has a great handle on Phonics.  Her current fascination is The American Girl books & the American History they help her to 'live' through.  She's even asking for American Girl doll stuff for Christmas.

Braly's meeting was next & what can I say...his teacher enjoys him too.  She said that the one thing she doesn't have to worry about is Braly repeating something she's told him not to do.  He's so very eager to fix his mistakes quickly.  He may make many small mistakes since he's learning so much right now but she's right, he seldom makes the same mistake twice.  He's one of the top students in his 1st grade class & he's respectful, kind, a good friend, and improving each & every day on all his skills.  He's one of the top readers in his class & he's doing fantastic with his spelling.  I'm thankful that his teacher teaches in great detail about phonics.  He's always coming home with a new rhyme or song about how to remember something.  I was afraid he would have trouble with spelling tests since he is a sight reader but he sure does a great job.  I would say that one of his best skills is his ability to memorize things.  Sometimes Gabby gets frustrated with him since he is so good at memorizing that she thinks its unfair that he can hear a verse from the Bible & have it memorized in 30 seconds & it takes her longer than that to memorize it.  She does just fine with it but Braly excels with memorization.  It's actually how he learned to read, by just recognizing words & memorizing what they say.  If I had to state something that Braly isn't as good at, I'd have to say coloring. Mostly because he lacks the desire to do it.  But let me tell you that bribing with tootsie rolls has made quite an improvement.  Beyond the Tootsies though, he really strives to have his teacher make nice comments on his pages that he colors neatly.  We still have one hanging on the fridge of some pumpkins he colored that she wrote nice job! on.  He beams with great satisfaction when he sees notes like that.

After I left the elementary school, I picked my MIL up so we could go to Martha's conferences to hear what a wonderful student she is.  Everyone is so pleased to have her in their class.  She starts great discussions, has excellent class participation, confidence, knowledge & is just so intelligent that they all enjoy her.  But just like all of us she has one thing to work on, handing her homework in completed & on time.  Oh to be a teenager again...hahaha

I decided since they kids had worked so hard for school that we could go to McDonalds to eat lunch & then they could play in the playland.  They were thrilled.  After lunch the girls & I headed to Joann Fabrics so we could purchase some patterns that were on sale & choose some fabric to make some jammie pants for Gabby & her friend that just moved to Gladstone (they'll have matching pants) & some adorable Monster pants for Braly.  I have to wash the fabric & then we can start learning how to prepare a pattern & make the pants.  Gabby is excited & scared to learn.  I think it is going to be fun & she'll be impressed with what she's made when she completes it.

We got their school pictures back too so come back to see how grown up they are becoming.

It's a Small World after all

Tonight when I was helping the kids put their stuff away the new neighbor boy's mom came to bring him home and we started talking.  I found out that her son, Ethan goes to Preschool at the YMCA.  Last week I found out that one of our favorite Headstart teachers is in charge of the Preschool program at the Y now so we chatted about how awesome she is.  While chatting, we got onto the subject of Todd & how it has affected Morgan.  A few minutes later Holly asked me how old Todd was & what happened.  I started out by saying something like "I'm not sure if you know where Felch is, but....."  She said, "I grew up around there."  We asked maiden names & found out that she's Holly Statum & graduated the year after Natalie & she remembered when she had a class at Bay with Nat & a conversation she had just after Natalie & Todd were married.  It was strange & yet so neat to find out that our new neighbor graduated from the same high school I went to and that our sons enjoy playing together.  I told the kids that Ethan's mom went to the same school as I did & even dug out an old yearbook to show them her pic when she was in 5th grade.  The old pics were just TOO FUNNY!!!   They enjoyed seeing Uncle Todd with lots of hair too.  Makes me really thankful that we have pics of him to share with them. It really helps them to remember him & fun things they've done with him.  Oh, and Holly works at the newspaper & is going to look & see if they wrote an article about Todd & try to see if she can get them to include the part that he saved a life.  So there is another life that Todd has touched. :)

Tomorrow School Starts

Sheesh, I can't even believe that the summer is over & school starts tomorrow.  Today was fun but busy with family over to visit for the holiday.  Felt very rushed getting the kids to bed tonight so they weren't up too late.  Gabby had a hard time falling asleep.  She's just nervous & excited so I completely understand.  I remember how each year I would ahve a hard time falling asleep thinking about the very next day, the 1st day of school for the new year.

I'm so happy that we had an open house at school on Wed last week so the kids could meet their teachers & see their classroom & their desk.  I had to ask the teacher if she would move Gabby to the front of the room so she didn't have to try to see over the heads of all the normal but tall kids compared to her.  Made lunches for the kids & we've got everything set out for them. I still need to take pics of all their supplies laid out.  It is a HUGE pile for each of them this year.  Oh well.  I'm so tired & need to have enough rest to wake them up on time.

I'm thankful that I have Morgan so she can help me not be quite so sad that Gabby & Braly will be gone from me for 8 hours 5 days a week now.

Summer with neighbors

When we first moved to our house 3 years ago there weren't many kids around for our kids to play with.  There was one that had just been born next door to us & there was another one across the street from us around Gabby's age.  This summer has been FANTASTIC so far because the kids have been able to play with the neighbor kids like crazy.  Think Dennis the Menace where all the neighborhood kids were playing together in each others yards.  That is kinda like what my kids get to do and I am thrilled that they are making friends & we are starting to get to know the neighbors a little better.  Last weekend the kids were playing with Allie next door & her 2 boy cousins were visiting.  They were even asked to go to the park with them.  And they've been playing with Allie every chance they can get.  Then yesterday while they were playing with Allie, Isabella from across the street came to play (she just celebrated her 2nd birthday & so did Evelyn who lives 2 houses away).  Then there is Gabbi on the next block over came over for a little bit.  Today was another story.  While they were playing with Allie, they were invited over to Evelyn's house to play.  And they were told that they could come back anytime. Makes me happy to see them have friends like that & that they behave nicely enough to get invited back.  While we were eating dinner Mackenzie came over to see if the kids could go play.  They played for about 45 mins & now its time to get them scrubbed from their adventures in the neighborhood.  This summer is turning out to be quite fun!

Invaluable Time

This morning Gabby & Braly had a really hard time getting up for school.  It seems that instead of enjoying these last days of school they are wishing they were already gone & that summer was already here.  I am biding my time trying to finish getting things taken care of since Bonnie & Martha's grease fire in the kitchen on the evening of May 14th.  So much running around to do, cleaning, sorting, & hauling.  I've been completely exhausted the last several days & trying to catch up on some rest when possible but that seems nearly impossible.  Anyway, back to the story I was about to share.

Morgan was outside waiting with the kids for the bus & talking to the neighbor girl for a little while.  When she left for daycare I told Morgan to take her bike to the backyard & then come inside.  She did it ever so slowly enjoying the beautiful morning.  The sun is shining, the sky is a bit hazy but so beautiful, the birds are singing their brilliant songs & the temperature is just right.  She decided to enjoy God's beauty a little longer & hopped onto the swing.  Did I mention before that my 3 year old can pump her legs to get the swing going pretty high.  Yeah, that's right!  She learned earlier than the other two most likely because she has had access daily to try it out & watch her brother & sister so she got the hang of it.  Woohoo!!! No more having to push her all the time & I think she loves the Independence.  So I heard her talking a bit & then didn't hear anything & went to check on her.  I have almost ALL the windows open in the house so I can hear her no matter what side of the house she's on & still let her play outside.  No sounds makes a momma a little concerned so I went looking to see where she was & what she as doing.  She was swinging on the swing.  Then she hopped down & walked over to the neighbors fence, the vacant one.  I thought she was looking at the super long grass & all the dandelion puffs & thought she wanted some puffs to blow but instead she was starring a the tree.  I had opened the window & was standing behind the lace curtain so I could see her through it but she couldn't see me.  She started talking & shook the fence a little and then I saw it just as she had....it had a fluffy tail & came scampering down the tree...it was a squirrel.  It froze with her rattling the chain link fence & then she talked to him & he started moving again.  She got up & walked toward our shed following the path of the squirrel & watching him intently.  I ran to grab my camera & before I got it ready with muting the sound, she was done with the squirrel gazing & had opened the door to come inside.  Photo-op lost but not the memories of what I saw.  Standing there watching her for several minutes could have been considered time wasted but that time is fleeting from me too quickly already with how fast these kids are growing up so just as she sees things in a different light, I am too.  I don't think that I could put a price on those moments of time...they are invaluable.  And my goal this summer is to live in the moments & enjoy them.

15 days left

In a few short weeks my little Braly, who is not really so little anymore, will be graduating from Kindergarten. I can't believe that its happening already.  These guys grow up so quickly.  It seems that it was only yesterday that I was holding him so he'd get more than a 15 minute nap.  I love hearing Braly's dreams of what he wants to do.  He's a smart little boy & truly enjoys school & learning.  He can memorize things quickly & word for word just like his Daddy.  Such a cool thing to be able to do.  Gabby has been teaching him lots of math.  I'll be interested to see how he does next year.  He'll be advanced in his reading & math but he's definitely a boy when it comes to writing & coloring.  I think he kinda wishes he didn't have to write or color so much.  He has definitely improved through the year though.  He has also learned many things in French already since his teacher decided to teach the kids French that could already read in English. Great idea Mrs. B!

So next year my Braly will be going to school all day long and I'll have 2 lunches to pack instead of just 1.  Although according to him, he's going to eat every hot lunch that they have. LOL So cute!  I love that he's excited to try something new. And really, I don't think the lunches are too bad but I'm sure he'll tire of the same things & ask for cold lunch more often before the end of next year.

It really is a privilege that I get to be his mom & see how he grows & develops into a nice young man.  I'm so very proud of him for his accomplishments and often receive compliments on how well he is behaved from both school teachers as well as his church teachers.  He is a delightful boy who happens to also be struggling with how to deal with his little sister.  As Morgan grows & matures as well, I'm sure their friendship will develop nicely just like Braly has with Gabby.  I pray for them to be strongly connected to each other & be very loving.  Siblings are very important in one's life.  I can say that I truly enjoy all 3 of my sisters.

So here's to you Braly!  You are a fantastic boy.  Mommy & Daddy love you so dearly & enjoy watching you grow up.

Welcome Spring...I think

Yesterday was such a beautiful day in the morning that Morgan & I went outside & started setting up the backyard for spring/summer.  We put together the offset umbrella with minor issues. (Morgan thought it was a fun idea to take the allen wrench that came with the umbrella kit & put it inside the hole of one of the bases so I couldn't find it & had to go get another one in the house.) She later told me what she had done.  When Braly got home from school he helped haul the tiles for the table out of the garage & put them in place.  We picked up trash that had blown into our yard (this happens ALL the time & I dislike it a lot) & we weeded a little bit. Just as we finished setting most of the stuff up the weather turned on us & had a cold wind. I thought we might actually get some rain but not yet. Guess we'll have to wait to enjoy the outdoors with nice weather sometime down the road.

Today Morgan & I plan to head to Menards & pick up a few things to help make the yard a little nicer looking.  We've discovered that the flowers on the side of the house don't survive the rain falling off the side of the house very well so I'm moving everything out of that flower bed & trying something different.  Something I hope to be easier to keep nice.  Since the soil doesn't seem to be very good for growing things either we're going to put rocks in that bed & just place some flower pots on the rocks for color.  really wish we could tear out the sidewalk along the side of the house & redo it.  It's broken up, sunken into the ground, & just horrible to walk on as well as shovel in the winter.  And then after we work outside for a bit I need to wash more of the walls in the living room.  It's coming along nice enough so far but it sure isn't very pleasing to the eyes.

Must head out soon. Morgan needs help getting dressed & then we can get some of the errands done.