Vacation Trial Run

Completing a trial run is generally a great idea.  You are able to assess the situation honestly and determine any tweaks that may be (or must be) made in order to have a better or more successful experience.  That's the theory behind the whole Wedding Rehearsal concept, right?

This summer, we are taking a big step and embarking on our first family week-long vacation. Usually, we invite others to join us -- grandparents, my sisters, or friends -- and we pretend it's because we enjoy their company.  But, truthfully, it is because we were scared to death to take these 4 little monkeys anywhere by ourselves.

That is all changing this summer.  For the week of the 4th, we will be heading to an awesome oceanside location and taking a family-only vacation.

To prepare, we took the kids over to Virginia Beach last weekend for a few nights.  Bob had a legal conference there, and it seemed like the perfect chance to try out this vacation thing out.

We had a wonderful trip.  Seriously.  I was somewhat surprised.  Now, let's not get crazy.  It wasn't perfect.  The car ride was pretty close to tortuous, no one slept past 6 a.m., and Bob and I had the lovely experience of sleeping on a sofa bed.  But we genuinely had a wonderful time together.

More summer memories.  And I am truly looking forward to our upcoming vacation!

Summer Fears

Despite my last blog post's upbeat attitude and positive spin on summer, I realize that summer can be extremely daunting for mothers of younger children. If your children have been in preschool or school this past year, you are now faced with the scary reality of spending an entire day, every day, with all of these little boogers.  I ran into a mom this week at the gym and said, "Happy summer!"  She groaned and said, "Is it over yet?"  (Ahem.  It was June 2.)

I get it.  In some of my past mothering seasons, I too looked ahead to summer as if it were a huge back hole -- a 3-month span of time and space that felt dark and lonely.  Despite my wonderful childhood summer memories, I could only see my summer as unknown, unpredictable, and out of my control.

As I am reflecting on this today, admittedly in a better state of mind and in a different season of mothering, I now understand why I felt that way.  It's because that is exactly what it was!

Young children are unpredictable.  Their moods are a fluke.  Our schedules become subject to their nap needs or diaper explosions.  And I would prefer it be otherwise.  Honestly, I like a schedule.  I like the known quantities.  I enjoy reading a book on the deck while getting some sun on my face and sipping sweet tea.

But, as is the case with most seasons of mothering, I had to meld my wants into the needs of my family and the realities of my situation.  That resulted in some tough summers for sure.  But guess what? Children don't stay young forever!  I'm not sure if you have figured that out yet, but they grow up.  And with each little few-months-interval, they grow and learn and become capable of new things....like sitting in a sandbox for hours playing with their siblings, or reading a chapter book for the entire afternoon, or talking with you about their dreams and curiosities.

So, this summer, I am not freaked out by the realization that my summer days will be full of 4 crazy monkeys. I kinda dig them.

But summer still freaks me out for another reason.

It is a known fact that my kids are happiest when they are at the pool.  We belong to a fabulous athletic club that has a great waterpark.  The kids want to go there every day.  And, truth be told, so do I.  They have a blast, and I have even been able to read a few pages of my latest book club's selection.  It's truly a miracle. We also have 2 beach vacations planned for the summer.

That would be gumdrops and roses except for the fact that you are supposed to wear a bathing suit to the pool or beach.   I hate that.

I was going to delve into the whole reason behind my traumatic bathing suit visions, but I have a feeling you get the gist.  We can probably all agree that:

We are never comfortable in a bathing suit because _________.  When walking around, I am afraid my ______ will fall out or my __________ is showing.  I want to have fun with my kids and throw my toddler up in the air.  But that is risky.  I try not to be self conscious but, in the back of my head, there is always the fear that I will appear on an evening news show about the ever increasing health epidemic in this country or an ad for cosmetic surgery.
(you fill in your own blanks)

I would not be reminding us all of this if I didn't have a silver lining to report.  And I do.

Let me introduce you to Divinita Sole.

First off, I do not work for them and get absolutely no benefit from telling you about them.  In fact, they are completely unaware that I even exist.

But what I will tell you is that after researching the internet for "mommy bathing suits," I found this company, took the plunge, and ordered a bathing suit online.

I could not be happier.  It is absolutely awesome.  It must be made of spanxx or something but the material is glorious.  It is long enough, high enough, wide enough, and thick enough to make me feel comfortable.  Seriously.  And it's cute to boot.

If you are already dreading this part of the summer, on top of the fact that your county does not participate in year-round school, trust me and try out one of these suits.  They are awesome, and I've already ordered another.

Here are some of my favorites:









If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, "Where are their bikinis?"  Then, we cannot be friends.

But I will talk to you in the fall while wearing my scarf and jeans.

Let the summer {memories} begin

Summer is here!  Well, I'm not sure if it is technically "summer" yet, but who really pays attention to the calendar start date??

For us, summer begins when the school schedule ends, the pace slows down a bit, the sun is hot, and (unfortunately) the air is sticky.

I'm not going to lie.  Last summer, I was scared to death.  I wasn't exactly sure how we I would handle a full summer with all 4 monkeys. But this summer, it doesn't seem as overwhelming.  I've learned to be smart about the activities we choose to participate in.  (I still can't do anything and everything with this whole crew)  And we have developed a few habits that seem to make out-of-the-house activities a little easier on everyone.  (More on that later.)  But the kids truly enjoy each other, and I am trying to practice a few spiritual disciplines to really help me relax and focus on these precious years.  (More on that later too.)

Caleb just finished his year of Transitional Kindergarten with the Fish Class.  What a wonderful year it was!  He had lovely, caring teachers who appreciated his spunk and encouraged his little mind to learn and be creative.  He loved it!

First day of TK - September 2013

Last Day of TK - May 2014

We were at Caleb's last day celebration at school.  He was so excited and enjoying the party.

And then I saw him start to slowly back against the wall.  His eyes got big and his brows began to furrow.  I leaned down beside him and put my hand on his back.  "When are we coming back?" he asked.  The realization that this was the last day of his Fish Class was just sinking in.  His lip started to quiver and then he began to sob. And so did his mama.  I still haven't mastered the mom skill that is able to maintain composure when your little one is a bawling mess.

Poor little guy.  But, at the same time, what a lucky little guy.  He was surrounded by friends and teachers that loved him.  He felt safe and looked forward to every day.  And even though my Caleb is drastically different that his big sister Eveley, he really enjoyed school and learning new things.

Some of you have asked whether we are still practicing a strict diet with Caleb, and the answer is a resounding YES.  I will definitely detail this more at a later time.  But let's just say that we tried to stop or even let up a bit and quickly realized the true benefits.  So it looks like we are in it for the long haul.  (Definitely more on that later.)

Our little man will start kindergarten in the fall.  I am admittedly a little nervous about the whole deal.  But he is definitely ready for a full day of fun and learning. And he is excited to be riding the bus with Eveley.  Oy vey!

We also spent this past week celebrating Robbie's birthday.  He would have been NINE on Monday.  It can be hard to balance the emotions of remembering Robbie with explaining the situation to his young brothers and sisters.  They ask some crazy questions.

Sweet Eveley is always very attentive and sentimental.  She made him a birthday card and was excited to release some balloons.

The other kids are still trying to understand.  But they are all happy to talk of him.

That morning, I told the kids at breakfast, "Today is Robbie's birthday.  We are going to celebrate it this afternoon."   Caleb's eyes got huge, "Are we going to heaven?"

Not today, I said. =)

So far, our summer is going well.  The kids have enjoyed their somewhat relaxing mornings and we have already had a few adventures.

We visited a friend's farm


enjoyed a picnic



had fun at the school's festival (where I HAD TO introduce Eveley to a funnel cake).

and are spending most of the days at the waterpark.

Eveley still has a couple weeks left in school, thanks to Ole Man {and stubborn} Winter.  While she loves school, she is excited to join in our day fun.

Our summer calendar is pretty full with a couple Vacation Bible Schools, two family vacations, one adult vacation, one mama vacation, and a trip to the Tennessee farm.

There are many memories to be made!

Cruising

One of the reasons I decided to return to blogging was the unbelievable joy I found when I began the crazy process of reading through the past FIVE years of blog posts.

For several years, I have wanted to transfer this blog into a printed book.  It would make me feel better since none of my kids have a legitimate baby book.  I can just print off multiple copies and give them to the kids when they are married and actually interested in such stuff.

So, as I began to read through the funny stories, difficult days, and recaps of how God continues to move in our lives, I knew that the recording of this journey had to continue. 

In the 365 days that I was absent from the blogging world, so much has happened.  (My kids are a riot.). Thankfully, many of the snippets were recorded through Facebook and Instagram.  But I'm not sure I can diversify my memory making.  It's much easier to keep it all in one place so I remember where to find it.

Yesterday was one of those glorious memory-making days.  At least it started off as such.  My husband was away for a couple days at a conference.  This is certainly difficult but, at the same time, it has a few perks.  The biggest one is that I don't have to prepare an organized (and very late) dinner.  Instead, we get to eat bacon and eggs, some strawberries, and a few cucumbers around 5:30 and call it a night.

Yesterday afternoon, the kiddoes were running off some energy outside and enjoying the sunny but cool temperatures.  Eveley ran into the house and said, "Mom, you've got to come see this.  It's the cutest thing ever."  Now, you never really know what this may mean.  Her definition of "cutest thing" is not always in line with mine.  But this time, she was correct.



They had used their tinker skills to make a train out of plasma cars.  (Side note:  If you have a little one and have not yet been introduced to plasma cars, you are missing out.  These are awesome!  You can find the real deal here or the knock off version here.  We have one of each, and they are basically identical.)

Anyway, it was a beautiful site for a few minutes.  They giggled and wiggled as the leader-of-the-minute pulled them around the yard.  It also brought much disagreements as to who would be the next leader, how many trips around the minivan each person's turn included, and who had to double up.

In any event, it provided a few precious minutes of smiles and laughs.

Then, we got a little adventurous and tried this.

What can I say?  I failed physics.

End of the story:  Ryan had a few "boobies"  (this is what she calls boo boos), Caleb was mad, and Eveley was ready to go again.

The real point of the story:  They all were exhausted and were snoring by 7:30.

I'd say this constitutes another successful day of memory making.  We'll wear the helmets next time.

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Resurgence

No, I am not talking about a book in yet another captivating trilogy.  I am speaking of my resurgence into blogdom.

Exactly one year ago, I quietly, but reluctantly, walked away from the blogging world.  A sabbatical seemed to be in order for a time of refreshment and renewal.  And, let's be honest, my four precious monkeys are a handful.

But a lot has happened in a year.  My hands are still full, but my heart is fuller.  (That is a word.)  And it only seems proper to re-enter the scene as my babies turn THREE.  (Three? Three?  How can that be?)


Guess who is 3 ??!

This guy.

And this girl.

These two love each other.

And share most everything.

Birthday morning hugs began as this.

But morphed into this.

The twins received a sandbox for their birthday.  It was a major hit.  (And I am very thankful for that since I hauled 800 pounds of sand from Lowes (Sixteen 50-pound bags), into my minivan, and then filled the sandbox.  The depth of a mother's love....

We were all a little tired.

Mother's Day weekend was filled with exactly what I would have wanted.  Dirty, loud, crazy, beautiful kiddoes who call me Mama.  (over, and over, and over again.)

I'm excited to see what this year will hold.

Two Twos and Tutus

This Mother's Day weekend was filled with the best Mother's Day activities  -- celebrating these little munchkins who allow me to fill the coveted role of a mama.

 

 

 

These TWO turned TWO.

I cannot believe it.

 

 

 

We celebrated with cake and candles.

Then we headed out for Eveley's very first ballet recital.

Their practices are closed, so I had no idea what to expect.  But she was so very poised, confident and strong, and the best little bunny I have ever seen.

Daddy had some flowers waiting for her, and she was thrilled!

 

 

Grandma came to visit for this special weekend and brought her little dog.  

They all adore him.  I'm not so sure the feelings are mutual.