KJ is 3!

Wow, our little Care Bear, Our Krazy J-Z, Our Kerri Jean, is 3 years old. And she is going on 6. Tonight at dinner Sean asked her to ask politely for some more chili (she loves chili). She said, very clearly, I do not want to say that. I will not say that. And that is our Kerri. She knows what she wants and knows what she does not want. And you are sure to know it too. With all her stubbornness, she is still a cutie.

She loves to snuggle and will rub your face, hair, back, etc if you lie down beside her. She loves her sisters and especially loves playing with Bridget when they are home alone. I love hearing her call to her sisters and ask them to play with her. The other day, she was at my parents' house; when we called to say goodnight she first asked how I was doing (really the first time I had a coherent two way conversation with her on the phone) then asked about each of her sisters. It melts my heart when they love on their sisters. It breaks my heart when they fight (which is often!).

Kerri loves Dora; she loves to color; she is always ready to go somewhere. She loves going to school, but still clings to my legs when drop her off. She LOVES her pacifier (I know, she is three!). Kerri is not easy to make smile or laugh, but when she does laugh, it is a great belly laugh, and you can't help but smile when you hear it. She will ask for waffles, then say "Actually mom, I'll have pancakes." She loves the word actually and I think sometimes says the wrong thing first just so she can say "actually." She takes her time and really seems very unaware of any sense of urgency in anyone else. It takes her especially long to get in her carseat. I think the more of a hurry I am in, the longer she takes! She picks out her own clothes the night before and notices if I make any changes at night (trying to match or make weather appropriate) and insist that I change it back to what she put it out. It is usually pretty comical!

Kerri is a funny kid and she makes me laugh everyday. She loves to read books and line things up. She loves blocks and building things. She loves her friends Gappy and Jimmy and gets along great with them.

We love you Kerri and hope you strong personality serves you well in life. Keep walking to your own beat and enjoy the view!

Maggie Mae

Thank you Maggie, my sweet darling 6 year old Maggie. Thank you for being you. feel very lucky to have you in my life. You are my little partner in crime. I love spending time with you; I love shopping with you; I love decorating the house with you, setting the table with... really, just about everything with you! I am amazed by all the style you have. I am amazed by your fashion sense and by the way you see things. I can remember when you were so shy and bashful, not anymore! You are full of spirit and full of life. You have friends that you really love being with, and they love being with you. And I so happy to see you playing with your friends and love seeing how happy your friends are to see you and be with you. I love that your truly care about your sisters and try your best to make them happy.

You are starting to read, and that is so fun to see. I love having you read to me at night. You love reading too.

You are playing soccer, and are pretty good too! You scored a few goals this season and will start your indoor soccer season soon.

You are still dancing. You are doing great in class too. You are always so excited to go and really so excited to do anything.

You skip off to school every morning. You love it and your teacher said you are doing great. She said if there was one thing to change (and there was only one thing) it would be for you to slow down a bit! It runs in the family!

You help me set the table and do the centerpieces all the time... and you are really good.

You are very emotional. Lately you have returned to having full blown tantrums again. We are trying to figure out the cause, but not sure yet.

You are great on the playground... climbing especially!

I am sad to see my little fashionista growing up, but so excited to see what is in store for you!

Maura is seven... how did this happen?

I have resigned myself to the fact that at every birthday of every girl, I will ask, "How did that happen?" I now know what those crazy "old" people were talking about when they said, enjoy it, it goes so fast (and I scoffed in their faces). Holy moly. It DOES go by so fast. And I am honestly tired just thinking about it let alone living it. The good news is, it is all good news right now, so for that I am grateful. Everyone is loving their lot in life right now. Everyone is basically happy and content, dare I say, even thriving!

Sean is busy at work, which is a good thing, but is still able to coach two of his daughters' soccer teams, make it to Donuts for Dads, go to Back to School Nights, and sign up to be a mystery reader here and there. Yeah for him. The other night I emailed KJ's teacher to tell her what fun Sean had and the Donuts for Dads and how excited Kerri was when Sean came in the door after work "still" wearing the tie she made him at school earlier that day. Her email reply, really made me stop and fall in love with Sean a little bit more (I know, sappy). She said: "Well, your family truly is special! When a daddy knows how to make his daughter's day that is something to be revered!" And you know what. She is right. Now, if only Sean read this blog so her could enjoy the compliment.

Maura's birthday party was a carnival theme. We had a clown do balloon animals and a magic show, we had carnival games (in the basement due to rain) and a homemade pinada. Lots of prizes. lots of candy. lots of fun. lots of relief when it was all over... oh, and one of Maura's favorite things... lots of presents.

We are knee deep in soccer season with Maura and Maggie both playing. Maggie is really loving it. She loves having all her girlfriends on the team with her. She even scored a goal at the last game. Maura is still in love with soccer too. We are now working on modesty with her. She seems to really excel at it (last game she scored 17 goals!). She is not at all bragging to her team or the other team, but wants a "prize" or a "treat" from me. Not sure how to handle that one. Really, I do not know what to do. When she only scored a goal or two, or sometimes did not really touch the ball, we would say, you can get something from the snack bar (or something small like that) if you score or block a goal (even if she did not we still gave it to her). This year at her first game, Sean said he would give her a dime for every goal she scored. I think she scored four. The next game she scored 7... now 17. I know a dime is not much, but it is probably not a good lesson. Really, again, I am torn.

Mags and B are doing dance again this year. They love it because it is with their friends Eva and Marin. It is nice because KJ goes to babysitting and I get to work out during it.

Daisy meetings start this week. I am Maggie's leader this year, so that will be pretty neat. It will be interesting to see how she acts with me around.

Again, all is good, and that is good!

GOAL!

Just a little bragging... Maura scored 7 goals at her soccer game today! Way to go Maura. The best part... she had a smile on her face the whole time!

Some more firsts.

Well, this momma is exhausted from all the firsts that have happened round these parts for the last three weeks. Maura started school August 31, then Mags started September 7, then B started September 12 and KJ started September 13. Won't it be nice when one day they all walk off at the same time... hopefully hand in hand, smiling and loving each other fiercely!

Well EVERYONE is doing great. I was most worried about B. She is definitely momma's little girl, and cried a lot even when I leave the house with Sean at home or one of our parents, so I thought going to school this year might be tough. Not the case. She is really doing a great job and feels very proud of being in pre-K and of all the new things she is learning. I am sure it helps that she has an awesome teacher. M and M both and her and I just adore her. She made such a big deal out of Bridget writing her name and cutting her circle at the "lifestories" (aka meet the teacher), she really made B feel so proud of herself. And me so proud of her too. B is definitely starting pre-K at a different skill level than M and M (she is almost a year younger than they were and has a different set of interest (and had a mom that was very busy with two older sisters and a baby sister on the way-poor middle child). I am just so happy for her though. She really is doing great and feeling great about herself. She is asking for playdates and wanting to have her own social life. Another thing that I think got neglected as the middle child. I am going to love watching her grow this year, and hate it at the same time. I am ready for a "freeze in time" I love the kids this age and would keep it ere for a while if I could.

KJ also is loving school. I kind of knew she would. She was so excited to hold her book bag. If you asked out loud in a room who was starting school tomorrow, she would excitedly raise her hand and say (in her deep voice) "ME!" She calls her teachers Miss Cammy (which is right) and Kristen (which should be Miss Mary Chris. Oh well. She loves them and loves school. SO far no tears and no accidents. Yea Kerri. I hope you fall in love with school this year and never look back!

We have another kindergartner

Yes we do! Mags started kindergarten today. It really just kind of went like any other school day would. She wasn't nervous, not really excited, just ready. At the last minute yesterday, they added another kindergarten class to her school and moved some kids around, so I wanted to be sure to take her up to school today and make sure she went to the right spot, alas, I was met at the door by the "escort" who stole... I mean, took, her away from me and walked her to her classroom. I still have a hard time adjusting to our elementary school and the lack of every day communication with the teachers, but I am trying.

3 hours later I picked Mags up in carline and she had a huge smile on her face. She was happy. She said she had fun with her friends, got to color and her teacher was nice. I guess that is really what it is all about. After last year's experience with kindergarten, I am looking forward to a fresh start and a whole new perspective (mine) on things.

Mags, I am very proud of who you are growing into. I can't believe the little girl who cried every day at drop off and would not go in front of the classroom for the holiday show, or even talk to your teacher for months, just two years ago, now runs off to kindergarten without a thought. Your confidence and willingness to try new things (with a dear friend nearby of course,) is a pleasure to watch. I am looking forward to this exciting new chapter with you!

School Days

We officially have two grade-schoolers. Holy Moly! Maura started first grade last week without a hitch. Despite her pleas to homeschool, she is back in the public school system. She seems to be liking it a lot. She did, however, mention that second grade she is definitely going the homeschool route because school is interfering with her social life, and by social life, I mean 5 day visits to Oba and Grandad's house!

Her teacher seems nice, although I have not really met her, which does bother me a bit. She has class with two of her "BFFs" from last year and two boys she was in class with too (not BFFs, but friend none the less). She will be playing soccer this year, which she is ecstatic about.

After the first day of school she informed me that the next day she wanted to ride the bus too and from school (she would not ride the bus at all last year) and wanted to buy lunch. Little Miss Independent. Maura has actually always been a easy child. She was an easy pregnancy, and easy, easy baby, easy toddler and now is a easy, I don't know, what do you call a 6 -almost 7- year old, young girl?!?! I sure am proud of my girl and everything that she does.

Mags will be starting Kindergarten tomorrow. She is super psyched. She has her lifelong BFF Eva in her class and her newest BFF Marin in her class. We even noticed that all three are sitting at the same table! They will be psyched! We met with her teacher today. She seems very nice and very friendly. She mentioned numerous times that it was kindergarten and we could relax a bit. So much different than last year's experience. I am looking forward to a great year.

Homeschooling

I was a teacher in my previous life, this is true. However, I taught HS English. People hear that and assume I can teach a child to read or write. I cannot. This is obvious from the reading/writing abilities of my children- and my patience level when trying to work with them. Despite all this, Maura has asked, rather begged, me to home school her next year. Apparently I agreed.

I am pretty sure the conversation went like this...

LOTS of background noise, yelling, crying, singing inlcuded

Maura: Mom

Me: (ignore)

Maura: Mom, Mom, Mom

Me: (ignore)

*there are probably five other "mom"s being said at this time

Maura: MOM

Me: WHAT?

Maura: WIll you homeschool me this year?

Me: Sure, whatever Maura.

Maura: (walking away) Thanks mom

Me: (also walking-the other way) Your welcome Mo

And so it happened. Apparently I promised my soon to be 1st grader to homeschool her this year. At first I thought if I ignored it, it would go away. I realized that was not working. So, I tried and tried to convince her it was a bad idea. Mommy, barely knows how to read herself, you know? Then we even did some sample lessons. She loved them. The popcorn and drinks probably did not help! What can I say? I even made popcorn when I really did teach.

We went "Back to School" shopping the other day. I said these clothes were only if she went to real school. She said she needed to look good at home to do good (I know- well). WHen we were checking out with piles and piles of clothes, the saleslady asked if these were her back to school clothes, she proudly said YES, I am being homeschooled this year. The lady looked at me (kind of strangely) and said, "wow, that is great. Lucky you." When my friend Meghan asked her what she is most excited about for 1st grade, she just said, "Well, I was supposed to be homeschooled."

When I did tell her (I assumed she knew) that she would not have the same teacher as last year, she did sigh a sigh of relief and say "oh, well, then I don't HAVE to be homeschooled, but I would still prefer it." She also mentioned she had nightmares about her teacher from last year. When I asked her why she never told me, she said, "you would just say, She's fine, Maura, go back to bed"... poor thing!

SO I have about 3 weeks to convince her that having me as a homeschool teacher would indeed NOT be a good idea. at. all.

There is someone for everyone.

This summer I worked at a summer camp at Episcopal Academy, which is right down the road from us. Jenn Smith and I "job shared," one of us worked, while the other watched the little ones. The older four (Isabel, Maura, Mags and Chloe) were able to go to the camp. It really worked out well.

Anyway, Jenn had the kids last week and took B, KJ, and Brady to Dunkin Donuts. In walked some men in suits. B turned to Jenn and said, very seriously, "Jenn, those men are very handsome." Now, I wasn't there, and who am I to judge anyway. However I have a reliable source that tells me they were well over 60 and at least one of them was bald!

To each his (or her) own!

Is a cast cool?

I think most 5 or 6 (or anyone under 16) year olds would think, yes it is. At least at first. Not our Mags. This weekend Mags fell off the monkey bars (shocking, since she is usually SO good at them and all the tricks she does) and hurt her arm. Sean and I do not usually get alarmed by our kids getting hurt and pretty much take it in stride. This time it was different though. See, Mags doesn't really like attention drawn to her. If she truly does get hurt, she usually cries quietly and discreetly into my legs or behind my back. This was not the case. After deciding that she was indeed hurt enough to go to the ER, she really lost it. She did NOT want to go to the doctor at all. Even all our bribes, and the nice ladies at the ER's bribes could not make her relent. After a while though (we were there 2 hours) she was in a great mood, laughing , giggling, joking and playing. Sean and I thought surely we made the wrong call and the x-rays would come back fine. Well, I think she was just thrilled to have our undivided attention because she did indeed have a fracture (a "buckle" they call it) and would need a cast. She chose blue.

I thought all was good, but she would not get out of the car at the cupcake place, she did not want anything for the grocery store (I had to stop for Motrin) and then would not come out of the car when we got home. The rest of the girls had made a big welcome home poster for her and a necklace (so darn sweet), but still she would not come out. She was too embarrassed. Funny, because Maura has not stopped trying to figure out how she can get her own cast. She LOVES attention. After finally warming up at the the shorts, talks of a trip to Chuck E Cheese nearly put her over the edge. Same thing with camp on monday. Needless to say, many bribes have been made this week, and probably many more will be made in the next four weeks.

She got her permanent cast on today. She chose green this time. No one is allowed to sign it. It is waterproof, thank goodness. She seems a little more confident with this one, but we will see. She still changes a few times a day (I was hoping this would be difficult) and she made a pasta necklace, so I would say she is doing okay.

I guess even the best little monkeys can get hurt.

Our graduate

We have another graduate in the house (can I get a whoop whoop!?). Maggie Mae is officially a kindergartner (well, almost, she "still has a lot of summer vacation to go" as Maggie says). Her graduation was just fantastic. We were so proud of the way she stood up on stage and sang her little heart out. She was very serious and would not wave or thumbs up or anything like that during her performance (unlike the little boy next to her who gave his mom a thumbs up no less than 8 times). She was so excited to read her yearbook that when we went to the courtyard to visit B at her popsicle party, she went off by herself and sat and "read" the whole thing. She has had someone read it to her cover to cover at least 2 times now (and all the descriptions of the 55 kids graduating). She really blossomed this year, and it just warms my heart to see her so confident and so comfortable with her surroundings.

...She has grown up so much this year. She loves to practice her writing. She loves to color. She adores her friends and wants to have playdates all the time. She is always ready to go somewhere and will do whatever you need to help get out of the house. If you can't find something, don't worry, Mags can. If you say something like "gosh, I wish the basement was clean; it really makes me upset." There is a good chance she will be down there in the next 10 minutes cleaning it She makes both her and B's bed in the morning. She loves to "read." She is loving soccer and is still a fish in the water. She liked dance a lot but is not sure she wants to do it again, she may want to focus on soccer (she cracks me up!).

Today she was put in time out for something (I honestly can't remember) and was crying very loudly. Chris peeked in to check on her. She was still crying loudly, but as she was also hanging the clothes that bridget had thrown on the floor. She then went on to organize her closet and clean up her room. That's my girl!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a wonderful weekend we had. Friday night at the Smiths the kids played great. Saturday we picked up Chris and Ryan and grilled ribs and made s'mores (and burnt a hole in our yard!). The girls absolutely love when Ryan comes to town. They have been so excited all week and were counting down the days and hours until he arrived. They all went with Sean to pick him up at the train station. I just wished he lived closer. Hopefully he can come spend some quality time with us this summer.

Sunday we went to the pool (B is quite the fish. WCU swim lessons paid off). It was too cold for Maura, she just sat (and whined) by the side of the pool. The Cioccas and my parents joined us for another BBQ... so much fun had by all. Back to the pool today, and O'Reillys came for dinner. We tried to put the girls down early for bed, but they fought the fought and caused havoc for about two hours after we put them down. Overall it was a great weekend with lots of friends, family and fun! Hoping for many more like that this summer (I can't believe Maura has school tomorrow!).

Two wheeling

Mags is officially riding a two wheeler as of May 12, 2011. And guess what is even better... I taught her! Well, she was ready to go, but I did give her a push!

Tiny dancers

Today was B and Mag's first dance recital. I have to admit, they were adorable. I am amazed at their ability to just get up on stage and dance in front of all those people. They were not nervous at all. Mags was just so excited to be doing the dance with all her friends. In fact, on the way to the dress rehearsal (which was less than fun) Mags and her BF Eva were having the most adorable conversation about how time just flew by this year.

Me: Girls, can you believe it? Your dance recital is finally here.

Eva: I can' believe it is finally here.

Mags: It seems like it was just a little bit ago that we started dance class.

Eva: And now our show is here. Time goes by fast when you are having fun (or something like that).

It really was adorable, this conversation. I love listening to the two of them talk to each other. They have deep conversations about seatbelt laws, God, and ice cream flavors. I love it.

But back to the dance recital. Mags was one of the first ones to go. She really was not nervous just full of excitement. When we got back stage, I started to get a little nervous because some girls were crying and nervous. I wanted to stay away from them. Mags did not even notice. She went right over to her friends and started being silly. B did notice. She got a little clingy. She is not one that likes to be left alone, or just left in general. She wanted me to hold her for a bit, then color with her, but I did get out after a few minutes. I have to admit, I was a little nervous I would not see her on stage, but she was there and she did great.

Mags was very into her dance and was very graceful. HEr and Eva (really the two I was focused on) knew the dance very well. Mags also told a friend or two what to do a few times! Her class was one of the better classes (in a totally unbiased opinion... but really even the family behind us with out a child in the class, was commenting on how well they did.). They all knew what to do and where to go. This was not the case of all the classes. And Mags was great. B's class was amazing for the little ones. They also knew what they were doing and were able to sneak peaks off the side to see their teacher and follow along. B got a little distracted at the end and kept walking when everyone else had stopped and started the next move. The funny thing is, she did the same thing at the dress rehearsal and went to the same spot... maybe she planned it that way!

I was a proud mama today. Glad to see my cuties with the confidence to do what they did!

B's First "Real" Playdate

Don't get me wrong, B has played with plenty of people, plenty of times. She is known for yelling "It is BORING here" when we pull into our driveway. I have never seen her get dressed so fast as when I say get your coat and shoes on if you want to go to Jimmy's/Brady's (or Tory's/Jenn's for that matter). But today was a big deal in our house. Today she picked a friend from school to come over. I like the mom, but I am not friends with her (I'd like to say we are now after the playdate, but who knows, we may have scared her away). This is truly B's friend, and she could not have been more excited.

I told her just last night before bed. It was the perfect bribe to get her in bed and to stay in bed. She woke up this morning so excited. She hurriedly got in the car without being prompted and knew that when we returned from dropping off M and M, Ella would be coming over. Unfortunately, Ella's mom got a little caught up, so the 10 minute wait was more like a twenty minute wait, with about 100 "when will Ella be here"s built in.

She was excited to see her and welcomed her in. After Ella warmed up, they played swimmingly (whatever that means). They hid eggs, played monster, played house, played with playdough. It was the makings of a great first playdate; no tears, no fights, just smiles. I am happy for B! She is growing up just great.

My little helper

Mags is still my little helper. She will sneak off and clean a room just to make me happy. She races in when dinner is being made to set the table. She loves to get everyone their coats, shoes, hats, etc. The other morning Sean and I were attempting to sleep in (it was only 7:30am mind you). I finally got up and got in the shower. When I came out, Sean was still in bed. I heard the microwave beeping. Sean called down to Mags asking her what she was doing and why she was using the microwave. She yelled back up, "Kerri wanted Hot Chocolate." Oh, Okay then.

Potty on the Potty

That is heard around our house this day... either prefaced by "Kerri just went..." "You don't have a diaper on so you must go..." or sometimes "Why didn't you go..."

About two weeks ago, KJ decided she wanted to go potty on the potty from now on. She was really doing a great job. She would just go into the bathroom by herself and go about her business. The only reason I would know about it is when I went into the bathroom later and saw some yellow and even a little piece of toilet paper (or sometimes a whole roll) in the toilet. I tried not to encourage it (I know, bad mom) because I don't like potty training, especially in the winter, so I am not sure it will stick, but it sure would be nice to be done with diapers. Now what to do with those two cases I stocked up on from Costco when there was a coupon?!?

Learning the Hard Way

We found out on Monday that Jameson had cancer. Last night (Wednesday) we had to put him down. It was way too fast, but I guess better in the long run... less suffering for him, less confusion for the girls. Yesterday was a very bad day for me and a very hard one. I could tell Jameson was not right, I just did not know how bad he was. I was crying and lying with him on the floor. I was debating how much to tell the girls. When I told Maura we should be nice to him and love him because he was old for a dog and pretty sick, the questions started. Maura could turn a simple walk to the mailbox into twenty questions, so this was just way too much. Is he dying? Is he dying because he is sick or because he is old? How old is he? How old is Lexi? How come Lexi is older than Jay but not dying? How will he get to Heaven? Then she asked me how I knew he was going to die. How did I know dogs did not live as long as people? I said I had many dogs growing up so I knew what happened. She then replied, "So you learned the hard way mom, didn't you?"

We told the girls we were taking Jay to the Vet last night. We left them with my dad who put them to bed. As soon as she woke up this morning, she called me into her room and asked me how Jameson was. I told her he was in Heaven. She didn't believe me at first, but once she accepted it, she said, "I wish I didn't have to learn the hard way, Mom."

I wish you didn't either maura. and mags. and B. and KJ. I have a feeling I will feel like this a lot throughout my lifetime as a mom. Wishing I could shelter the girls from all that is not pleasant in the world. Wishing that the fact that I already learned it the hard way would count for something and give them a pass. I wish it worked that way. I wish that they would learn from my mistakes, be wiser because of my un-wise decisions, avoid making that same dumb decisions I made, simply because I tell them to. I know that will not happen. I know it is not realistic. I know they will be better off in the long run having learned life's lessons in a safe way while growing up, but it still stinks. Actually it pains my heart that I can't protect theirs.

We are so, so sad to not have our J dog greeting us at the door, barking at the deer, eating all the crumbs (except cheerios) that the girls drop. I already forgot twice today that he was gone. I really hope he is off chasing the angel-squirrels and playing catch with some kind and wise Saint. We will probably get another dog someday, but he'll never be our J Dog!

B's new term of endearment

B has a new thing she says.

I like you, I love you, and I believe you.

I think she may have been attending some covert therapy sessions to learn this phrase, but somehow she picked it up, and now the whole house has picked up on it. The other day I threw her for a loop when I proclaimed, I like you, I love you, but I don't believe you (she was proclaiming that if I let her out of the cart to walk in Target she would not run away or stray).

Dressed for success

Mags: Mom, do I have Gym class today?

Me: No, Mags. I think you have music?

Mags: Then why am I wearing my gym dress?

Me: Sorry, Mags, didn't realize that was your gym dress.