Very Soon

this little lady will be coming home!  

Kiki's foster mom sent me this photo. She says she always yawns after playing. 

Here is Kiki sending me an email the other night.

There was a delay in her transport, and instead of last night she'll be arriving in CT at 8:00 pm tonight. (Which I truly believe was meant to be.  I was a nervous wreck bringing Kiki home to a house full of 8 children! (A's party) Although they were very good.)  

We can't wait!  It is so very hard to sit and wait with all this excitement for and entire day.  Thankfully the morning was quite busy with A's friends still here, then we had some cleaning up to do, and I had to help a friend by letting her dog out while she was gone for the day.  Now we sit and wait until around 7:00 or so when we'll leave to meet Kiki!

Oh I'm bursting with anticipation!  I've wanted a small little dog of my own for so very long.

Getting Ready to Par-Tay!!

Ready to party with 6 little girls for A's belated 10th birthday party.

Craft before pool and pizza

Pizza and Cake soon after

More to come......

Our Summer Bucket List

In years past, before the summer break began, we've always made some sort of list or plan for the summer.  Last year we played it by ear and did things on the fly.  This year I thought maybe it would be fun to get back to making real plans, thinking about what we'd like to do, putting it down on paper.

My children are getting older and it pains me that they are not quite "into" crafts and being as creative as they used to be.  Now its more about sports and friends and social media.  This, my friends pains me.  If only they would still get excited about play dough and paint sets....

As I read my favorite blogs, many of which still have very young kids, I feel a jealous pull towards their children's innocence and the fun they are having creating, painting, molding and building fairy houses. 

Where has the time gone?  Honestly, I don't know what to do with 10 and 11 year old children.  They are from a different planet!  C is only 6 but he is greatly influenced by his older siblings, and their friends, and I'm afraid I've lost him along the way.  He wants to play sports (and there is nothing wrong with that. I love how athletic he is!), play video games and joke about butts and farts.  Sometimes I'm at a loss.  I'm a better mother than that!  J never once talked about body parts and gas!  Where did this child come from?????  How can they be so different?  

C's desire to be a big kid has taken aways these last years I thought I still had to pull out those paints and clay and crayons.  Is this normal for a third child?

So I thought, maybe if we created a list, I might get an idea of what they do want to do and be surprised???  Maybe, just maybe they still want to be kids?  Maybe, just maybe, C is still a real 6 year old under all that potty humor?????

I threw out some ideas and showed them Jamie's list.  A got really into it.  The boys not so much.  A was greatly influenced by Jamie's activities and I'm glad because now we have a great list of things to accomplish this summer.  As we begin to check off the activities I'll get an idea of where my boys are when it comes to such things.

Summer Fun to do List 2013::

• Make fudge
• visit a museum
• build fairy houses
• go see a movie
• make stepping stones
• make flower jars (I have to still find out what she means by this?)
• make homemade marshmallows
• play with water balloons
• go camping
• host a sleepover
• tie-dye shirts
• sell lemonade
• go to the beach
• make an indoor tent and watch a movie on a rainy day
• go on a hike
• go to the farmers market
• go bowling
• go to the zoo
• make root beer floats
• make banana splits
• make a family poster 
• visit the library weekly

and three squares remain to add to the list if we're inspired to even more!  

We're Adopting

A dog that is!

Meet Kiki! 

Our new dog!  We adopted Kiki last week and she is coming home this Friday!  Kiki was saved from a shelter in Arkansas and has been living with her foster family there. (that little hand on her back is the foster families grandchild) She was adopted through Pink Shelter.  She is making the trip to CT via Go Transporter.  She is part Chihuahua and what else no one is quite sure.  She is under or around 3 years old, according to two Vets.  

We are so excited and happy and a little delirious!

Of course once she gets to her furever home we'll be back with lots of pictures!!!

Now He is in Middle School

My oldest is on his way to middle school.  It has been quite the emotional week for me, and for him.  I'm having a hard time with the fact that he will no longer be in the school he's been in for the past 6 years. He will no longer be with his brother and sister, getting on the bus with them, or coming home together.  Now he will get on a different bus, with a different driver, one hour earlier, and arriving home about an hour earlier too.  I never thought I'd be so sad about him leaving his current school but it hit me like a ton of bricks.  So many changes.  

As for him, he'll be fine.  He's a good kid, likable, and feels ready.  Although he did have one day that just about broke my heart.  He called me to his room where he was crying and said he wasn't ready to grow up.  Talk about heart break!  We talked and we both cried.  I couldn't help it! Today, about 4 days later, he is fine, off to lacrosse camp, and spending time with friends.  

Now let get to the fun stuff!  Here's some of the reasons why I haven't been around much lately:

Purchasing just the right clothes for the ceremony.  That's a story for another day!!

Finding a bakery that was willing to put each child's picture on a cupcake for a decent price.  I did, and yes they are edible!  The kids got a kick out of eating their own faces!  HAHA!  Kids....

There's J's.

Creating a gift for all 74 children.  The theme this year was Diary of a (school initials) Kid.  I ordered all the materials and put them together.  (Details for another post, it was quite the project!)

Pictures of all the fun events throughout the year.  I did not put this one together, but I did help with taking pictures this year.

Here's J's Diary of a Wimpy Kid poster.  Each child had one with a different "thing" they were doing, all along the hallways of the school.  See below.

Each child had their picture on a star hanging from the ceiling on the walk to the gymnasium where the ceremony took place.

J walking to receive his "Stepping Forth" Certificate

Proud! Proud! Proud!

More fantastic decorations above and below.

All the decorations where awesome.  Just Awesome.  The 5th grade committee did a fantastic job. I am so proud of my son and proud to be a part of this school and happy I still have two children there.  

Next year A will be Stepping Forth.  C will have four more years there and after that I don't know what I'll do!  I know I will miss it terribly but with each child moving on we'll have new experiences and as parents we'll do all we can to make sure they will be as great as they were these past 6 years.

Bitter sweet to say the least.

Finally

I've been waiting a long time for this.....

Before 

YAY!

Before

YAY again!

Quite an improvement.  Now I'm praying they keep it this way!

Today

this Boy 

"Steps Forth" 

Next Year Middle School......

P.S.  He is getting his head shaved tomorrow!

Almost To The End

When this is complete, 

my three children walk through the door on June 21st

and the weekend parties are done.  

I will be back!

Serenity Now

You may not know that I am a huge Seinfeld fan.  Yes it is true.  I can quote most lines and can apply at least one thing a day to a Seinfeld episode.  Hey the show was about "nothing" but people hanging out and living their lives, so it's easy to find something during the day that one has seen on Seinfeld.

Because life has been so out of control and busy these past few weeks, my new mantra is Serenity Now, yes directly from the episode The Serenity Now  when George's father says "Serenity Now" as a relaxation technique.  It's not working as well as I wished.  I should have known since it didn't work for Mr. Constanza either......

As quoted,  Serenity now. Insanity later!

Although I think the insanity is already settling in.......

Happening Around Here....

 I thought I'd share a little of why I haven't been around much lately....

Art Show:  

A's "Backpack" piece was chosen for the local art show

Author's Night:

The fourth grade students write their own pieces through out the year.  Poems, stories, etc and share them during a "formal" event at school.  The fourth grade teachers begin with a little speech about why they have Author's Night, what the children get out of it, etc.  We then go to our child's classroom where the children one by one read two of their pieces.  They also read "About the author" and a who their book is dedicated to.

I was on this years committee.  I had to share these beautiful wreaths that I and two other moms made for the front door.  We donated them to the library.  There are more decorations but I don't want to bore you to death.

A reading

I had to share what the young people call a "selfie".  I took this one of myself to share with my family and closest friends how big my hair can get on a humid day.  I'm still peeing my pants every time I look at it.  It was humid, so very humid.  And this picture really does not do it justice, it was BIG.

Egg Drop:  

Egg Drop is a super fun day, I explain it here.  I was the parent volunteer for both A's class and C's class.  Ahem, our eggs did not make it.  The Husband joined in the festivities this year and proceeded to tell me what what one needs to do to keep the egg from breaking.  Oh really???  Maybe next year he can go to the school and build the egg drop boxes??????? Yes?

Baseball games, Lacrosse games, and gymnastics.  Every. Single. Week. 

Spring Concert.  

Yes I know my son needs a hair cut.  

And of course this little lady.  Can you find her amongst the mess?  

She helps me every day make my house as messy as can be but she is sooo darn cute!

Oh and by the way, all of this was in the last week and a half and there are still 11 more days of school!!!