Summer: Part 1

I left off with a post about birthdays and swim lessons. A few other things have happened but nothing of major substance for me to blog about. I recently took back my old position at Gymboree (one that I had back when I didn’t know I’d be a mom to 3 kiddlets). It’s been great getting out of the house, and doing something that I really do love. Yes, I admit it. I love retail. Roll your eyes 🙂 And yes, there are times when I’ll complain about it but the flexibility it gives me to stay at home with the kids during the day is fantastic. Plus the clothes rock and so does my discount. So…I’ve been working 20-25 hours every week for the past 4-5 weeks and it’s been a huge adjustment. Hence my limited blogging/picture taking.

John has been a huge help to me by making dinner, getting kids to and from camp/swim lessons, and keeping the house tidy. With out that help, I’d be sunk. So, fair warning to anyone wanting to ‘drop by’. My house is a pit even with husband cleaning service, the laundry is about 3 loads behind most days, and sometimes dinner is just a frozen za because I can’t get off my tired rump to figure out a decent meal. I guess we’ll see how long it takes for me to adjust, I’m just glad I’ve got John here every step of the way. Funny how far 5 years of marriage have taken us.

The kids finished up swim lessons a few weeks ago. Gavin-major fail, Ian-minor fail, Kae-SO CLOSE to next level. And honestly, they just loved being in the water and mostly listened to their teachers instructions! That’s all I cared about. Not looking for 2012 Olympic swimmers in this household. I just want my kids to be kind and respectful to ANYONE who is teaching them something. The older two have that down. G-man needs some help but thankfully preschool will be starting and his teachers are wonderful yet don’t take crap from small people! Wahoo!

They then jumped into summer camps! Ian went Monday/Wednesday/Fridays (9am-11am) for 3 weeks, and Kae went for 2 whole weeks (9am-3pm). Both kids LOVED being in their structured environment, and it was super nice not hearing the whining of them both-IM BOOOOORRRREEEEDDDD. Gavin hung with me on the days when Ian and Kae were both in their camps, and we mostly shopped for groceries and got Jamba Juice. He loves his one on one time with us, but really did miss his siblings.

Currently we are knee deep in wedding season, so showers/bachelorette parties are upon us this week and next. I’ll try to get some posts with pictures up but I honestly don’t want to fish for the camera cable. Mamma is LAZY.

So that’s part 1. Part 2 will come at a later date. When…no promises 😉

Oh September

Where did August go?! I’ve been lazy with my blogging and so many things have been going on. Writing is a bit of a release for me, so it’s very nice to be able to do it in a way that I will be able to look back and see all the fun events and memories we’ve had. This family is growing up. We’ve got a 1st grader, an almost 3 year old, and a 16 month old WALKER. Yes finally, those small weasley steps turned into a full-on run. Am I in trouble? Yes. Did I ask for it? Yes.

September is a wonderful month for us. The heat dies down so we can actually enjoy being in our house once again. Although, we won’t be taking the A/C units out just yet, I’m still waiting for one more little heat wave. Wishful thinking? Sigh. In 07′, just as I went to the hospital to have Ian, we got that lovely heat wave. Happy mommy, hot sweaty Ian. Poor guy has been a sweat box ever since. But we’ve got all our fall/winter clothes put in our drawers, with a few summer t’s at the top of our bins. The boys are set with clothes this year, minus a few things Ian will get for his birthday. I saved a boat load of Ian’s stuff when I found out we were having another monkey. And Kaelyn will always have more clothes than the boys. Because it’s a whole lot more fun to shop for her and with her. I have heard though, from miscellaneous sources (Mom), that girls get more difficult when they get older?! How true can that be. *handslapsface* Oh, karma…you are a bitch.

Kids:

Kaelyn is doing well in school.  She has had a bit of trouble following directions and keeping quiet when asked. She has had quite a few card changes from talking when she’s not supposed to. I know she is going to have to learn to keep her mouth zipped but she is so intelligent  and social that sometimes I think it’s hard for her to do. Her mind is working a million miles per second, always taking in everything and processing. It’s going to be a lot of hard work but fun work to keep her focused and interested in school. If anyone  has any suggestions on keeping her motivated, we are all ears! Kae also enjoys coming home to her brothers. It has been a fairly smooth transition for her with being at school all day with no down time to relax or play with her brothers. The boys seem to interact with Kae a lot better now too. I’m gonna keep my fingers crossed that Ian and Gavin have the same relationship with each other. She also lost another tooth 🙂

Ian, Ian, Ian. It has been a battle with EE for a while now. He knows he can say no and he uses it to the best of his ability. If I were grading him right now in his ability to say and use the word NO correctly, he’d be getting an A++ with extra credit points for all the times he makes me put him in his time-out chair. Was it this difficult with Kae? Yes. But it’s been 3+ years of not having to deal with it so I’m starting from scratch with this kid. His vocabulary has grown exponentially since he turned 2. I’m always amazed when he communicates with us at how precisely he says his words. No slurring his v’s, no s’ing his f’s. *sad face* No Ian-isms. No ‘Sive o Sive South Surst Street’ <—Genuine Kaelyn-ism. More on Ian next week for his 3rd birthday update.

Gavinator. Gavi-gav-sinosen. Baby. Lil’ Man. Bitty. Bubba. Tiny one. GG. NO NO BABY! Poor thing won’t ever know his real name. Gavin has been RUNNING throughout the house as of last week. And he’s been getting into a lot of trouble and making a lot of messes. I had to officially bring out “the grey gate” and it is now locking the children out of the rest of the house. The boys only have full rein of the living room and dining room. No kitchen, no den, NO STAIRS, NO BATHROOM. *crazy eye twitch* He says mama, dada, kitty (di), EE, Ki, nana, uh oh, NO, hi, om nom nom.  Gavin LOVES the cats. However, Cooper sees no need in liking Gav and Mac could care less about anything other than food. If Gav has food then Mac is his buddy and will wait under the high chair/table/ottoman for droppings. He’s on a one nap schedule with Ian, and they sleep from 11:30-12 until 2-2:30. That break in the day gives me a bit of a time to rest and recover from the early morning events. Waking up while it’s still dark is hard and I think this winter is going to royally suck for everyone involved.

Stove. Or technically speaking, Frigidaire Gallery 30″ Freestanding Gas Range In Stainless Steel – FGGF3041KF, arrived at 9:36 am on September 11, 2010. Weighing in at a whopping 217lbs, 30 inches wide and she is beautiful. And we will treasure her forever or until the first thing goes wrong and we get her replaced.

Other Happenings:

John and I saw John Mayer. I melted. We celebrated Megan’s 27th birthday at Ravinia last month. We saw Rodrigo y Gabriella under the lovely stars and perfect weather. Loads of cheese, meat, and wine were consumed by all.

Uncle Steve turned 2-0. Happy Birthday Brother/Uncle! We love and miss you! Can’t wait to see you soon! (the following photo is from 09′, perfectly shows what the kids are truly like-screamy, chill, picture perfect )

Ian’s 3 on the 22nd! John’s busy with work and has gotten a few other projects to keep him even more busy at home! I’ve been working newline at Gymbo which has allowed me to get out of the house for a few hours every month.  And that’s all folks! *Looney Tunes exit*