Today I am trying. Trying to appreciate my 8,7, 5 and 4 year olds. Trying to remember how precious they are (even when they are not acting so precious). Trying to deal with the fact that any minute truly could be our last minute. I am trying not to cry as I pull into the parking lot at school and see a police car parked there. I am trying to smile as I let me girls run off to school, happy as can be to spend time with their friends and their teachers. I am trying to take every moment in and cherish it all. I am trying to do all that, and still go about business as normal. Christmas is in a few days, family is arriving, parties are being hosted. These are all important things. Things still need to get done. And yet, the most important thing are those girls. I need to keep reminding myself that. Stop. Enjoy. Cherish. I am never sure why it is so hard. But I am sure that I need to try.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Hanukah vs. Christmas
Maura has always been intrigued by Hanukah. When she was little she used to asked people if they celebrated Hanukah or Christmas. If they said Christmas, she would shake her head and say, "I celebrate Hanukah."
Well, she has learned more about it as the years have gone on. This year she was blown away (and confused) that Jesus was indeed jewish. But as she was weighing the positives of both Hanukah and Christmas, she was playing the "would you rather" game she loves to play. She came to a realization. I am paraphrasing but this is basically what she said:
So mom, you mean to tell me the Jewish miracle is that there was a lantern that stayed lit longer than they thought it would. Our miracle is that Jesus died and ROSE FROM THE DEAD? Hmm, let me think about that one. I'm thinking our miracle wins.
She then continued to reason about how there was probably some oil in the corner of the lantern or something. I did try to explain the there is more to the Jewish culture than just Hanukah. But this was a typical Maura thought process I wanted to remember.
Well, she has learned more about it as the years have gone on. This year she was blown away (and confused) that Jesus was indeed jewish. But as she was weighing the positives of both Hanukah and Christmas, she was playing the "would you rather" game she loves to play. She came to a realization. I am paraphrasing but this is basically what she said:
So mom, you mean to tell me the Jewish miracle is that there was a lantern that stayed lit longer than they thought it would. Our miracle is that Jesus died and ROSE FROM THE DEAD? Hmm, let me think about that one. I'm thinking our miracle wins.
She then continued to reason about how there was probably some oil in the corner of the lantern or something. I did try to explain the there is more to the Jewish culture than just Hanukah. But this was a typical Maura thought process I wanted to remember.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
We are growing up...
Yes we are growing up around here. All of us. 5 out of the six of us have birthdays between September 3 and December 1st. Little B is the lucky one who has her own month to celebrate, and her celebration usually lasts all summer long.
I am 37.
Maura is 8.
Sean is 38.
Mags is 7.
and the baby, KJ, is 4.
Yes, we are growing up. (and of course, B is 5, but her birthday was a while ago)
Everyone seems to be thriving at this time. Some at the cost of other's (mainly mine) sanity, but thriving none the less. B's teacher called one day to explain what great growth is happening in her. She is making great progress, she says. For example, one day she was in the class library and threw a book on the floor. When the teacher asked her to pick it up she said "no."
Hmmm... if that is progress, well then we are progressing immensely at home. She throws things (sometimes punches) all the time. And she can say no with the best of them! She has also learned the art of apologizing. Thank goodness. If it weren't for those sweet, unprompted, "I am sorrys" she would be, well, I am not sure, but it would be worse.
Mags is just loving everything. She really does. She loves her teachers. Her friends. Her school. Math. Reading. Gymnastics. Soccer. Movies. Crafts. Really, everything. She is a real helper at home and her teacher says in school too. She cleans her teacher's desk for her all the time! She is a pleasure to be around and a pleasure to watch grow. For her Birthday Party we went to Pancotts Gymnastics with 17 of her closest girlfriends, as would be expected... she loved it. She is taking a class there, and, again, loves it. We swear she is missing a joint or two. She is very flexible.
KJ is a feisty one. She still makes me laugh. all.the.time. Even when she is being stubborn. Which is a lot. She is so self sufficient and "street" smart it is sometimes scary. She really is so aware of what is going on around her. She also likes to hit. Mostly me. If she does not like what is happening, whether I have anything to do with it or not, she will run over to me and hit me! At Thanksgiving dinner she was mad about something. She grabbed a chair. I asked her if she planned to throw it. She shook her head, very emphatically, YES! At least she is honest!?!?! She refuses to sleep alone and is genuinely afraid of the dark. She has adopted a new blankey which she loves. Never really had one before. Kerri is also a great artist still. She spends hours in the classroom coloring, painting, gluing, etc. It is nice to have a child that will sit for a while. Mags sometimes joins her, but Maura and B have little interest in art. For Kerri's birthday we went downtown on the train. Saw the Nutcracker. Light Show. Dinner at Belmont. She was in her glory. Her sisters treated her very well. We even let her "pick" the tree (with the input of the rest of us) the next day.
We are gearing up for the holidays. So much to do. I am trying to revel in the little things, but it can be crazy. Trying to not let crazy take over.
I am 37.
Maura is 8.
Sean is 38.
Mags is 7.
and the baby, KJ, is 4.
Yes, we are growing up. (and of course, B is 5, but her birthday was a while ago)
Everyone seems to be thriving at this time. Some at the cost of other's (mainly mine) sanity, but thriving none the less. B's teacher called one day to explain what great growth is happening in her. She is making great progress, she says. For example, one day she was in the class library and threw a book on the floor. When the teacher asked her to pick it up she said "no."
Hmmm... if that is progress, well then we are progressing immensely at home. She throws things (sometimes punches) all the time. And she can say no with the best of them! She has also learned the art of apologizing. Thank goodness. If it weren't for those sweet, unprompted, "I am sorrys" she would be, well, I am not sure, but it would be worse.
Mags is just loving everything. She really does. She loves her teachers. Her friends. Her school. Math. Reading. Gymnastics. Soccer. Movies. Crafts. Really, everything. She is a real helper at home and her teacher says in school too. She cleans her teacher's desk for her all the time! She is a pleasure to be around and a pleasure to watch grow. For her Birthday Party we went to Pancotts Gymnastics with 17 of her closest girlfriends, as would be expected... she loved it. She is taking a class there, and, again, loves it. We swear she is missing a joint or two. She is very flexible.
KJ is a feisty one. She still makes me laugh. all.the.time. Even when she is being stubborn. Which is a lot. She is so self sufficient and "street" smart it is sometimes scary. She really is so aware of what is going on around her. She also likes to hit. Mostly me. If she does not like what is happening, whether I have anything to do with it or not, she will run over to me and hit me! At Thanksgiving dinner she was mad about something. She grabbed a chair. I asked her if she planned to throw it. She shook her head, very emphatically, YES! At least she is honest!?!?! She refuses to sleep alone and is genuinely afraid of the dark. She has adopted a new blankey which she loves. Never really had one before. Kerri is also a great artist still. She spends hours in the classroom coloring, painting, gluing, etc. It is nice to have a child that will sit for a while. Mags sometimes joins her, but Maura and B have little interest in art. For Kerri's birthday we went downtown on the train. Saw the Nutcracker. Light Show. Dinner at Belmont. She was in her glory. Her sisters treated her very well. We even let her "pick" the tree (with the input of the rest of us) the next day.
We are gearing up for the holidays. So much to do. I am trying to revel in the little things, but it can be crazy. Trying to not let crazy take over.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Some funny Maura lines I don't want to forget...
Me: Maura, do you want to go for a bike ride with me to the store?
Maura: You had me at bike ride, you lost me at store. (she does not like shopping)
Maura walks over to Aunt Colleen and me and puts her hands on each of our shoulders....
"Sooo, which one of you lucky ladies is going to get to carry me to the beach?"
Maura asked for a 9 and a half year old sister for her birthday. She would prefer long hair, but is flexible. When she came home from school the first day I was talking to Mimi. Maura asked if I was able to find one yet. I said no and asked Mimi. I told Maura that Mimi had not yet either. She said, don't worry I will look it up on the internet. When I came in, my computer was opened to a Liberian Orphanage for girls. She is 7 people!
Maura: You had me at bike ride, you lost me at store. (she does not like shopping)
Maura walks over to Aunt Colleen and me and puts her hands on each of our shoulders....
"Sooo, which one of you lucky ladies is going to get to carry me to the beach?"
Maura asked for a 9 and a half year old sister for her birthday. She would prefer long hair, but is flexible. When she came home from school the first day I was talking to Mimi. Maura asked if I was able to find one yet. I said no and asked Mimi. I told Maura that Mimi had not yet either. She said, don't worry I will look it up on the internet. When I came in, my computer was opened to a Liberian Orphanage for girls. She is 7 people!
Playing Catch Up
Well, so much has happened in the last months, it is almost overwhelming to try to catch up. So I won't. I will just kind of pick up from where we are now and fill in a little as necessary.
We have two girls in elementary school this year. Maura is in 2nd (how did that happen??) and Mags is in first. We decided, last minute, to hold Bridget back a year. She is doing PreK again this year. It was a very hard decision, and I had all kinds of anxiety dreams, while awake and asleep, about it. But I am sure at this moment that we made the right decision for her. B is now a momma's girl if there ever was one. I love being loved, but I feel like she is being hindered by her attachment. It is preventing her from doing some pretty cool things and going some pretty cool places. I keep telling myself that this too shall pass. I know it will, but it is kind of painful while it is here. For right now she seems happy when I pick her up from preschool (not necessarily when I drop her off).
Maura seems to be loving her second grade teacher, Mr. Parrotta. I love him so far too. His Back to School speech made me want to teach again, although I am fully aware I would not be as cool as him. She is still not a huge lover of school and hard work, but she does it. She is turning 8 next week, and is having a "good old fashion backyard soccer party." According to her. I begged for her to have it somewhere else, but she wanted it here. To me that is not simple at all.
Mags is loving 1st grade. Her teacher, Miss Simmington, is a doll. Maggie was not with her two best friends this year, and I thought that would upset her, but it really has not. I am proud of her for that. She is starting gymnastics tomorrow. She is taking it with Chloe, but was willing to take it all by herself if she had to. I was proud of her for that too. I think she will do really well, as she has self-taught herself more than most people can do after months of classes!
Kerri is in young fours this year. She has Ms. M and Mrs Fischer. So far, so good. She is as stubborn as always and does things when she is ready, but darn if she is not the funniest thing around. She is so self sufficient and is following in Maggie's footsteps of loving to decorate, change her clothes and do crazy gymnastic moves.
As I said, B is in 4 day Pre K with Mrs. Fine and Mrs. Patel. Mrs. Fine was the aide in her class last year and she loved her, so this was great. She has class with Jimmy and Brady and seems pretty happy there. I hear she is a big helper and doing amazing, but her teacher is so sweet, I can't imagine her saying anything else. She is doing soccer this year. It has been a bit of a roller coaster, she is very unsure about participating. She through a major fit on Saturday at home before the game (I was headed to Maura's game instead of hers), but apparently played great when she was there... even almost scoring a goal!
We had a wonderful summer with trips to Ohio, Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland, the Shore, and Lake Huron. Lots of driving, but relatively easy. Girls loved it all. Summer camp at EA went well too. Looking forward to that again next year!
I am 37 now. That is all I have to say about that.
We have two girls in elementary school this year. Maura is in 2nd (how did that happen??) and Mags is in first. We decided, last minute, to hold Bridget back a year. She is doing PreK again this year. It was a very hard decision, and I had all kinds of anxiety dreams, while awake and asleep, about it. But I am sure at this moment that we made the right decision for her. B is now a momma's girl if there ever was one. I love being loved, but I feel like she is being hindered by her attachment. It is preventing her from doing some pretty cool things and going some pretty cool places. I keep telling myself that this too shall pass. I know it will, but it is kind of painful while it is here. For right now she seems happy when I pick her up from preschool (not necessarily when I drop her off).
Maura seems to be loving her second grade teacher, Mr. Parrotta. I love him so far too. His Back to School speech made me want to teach again, although I am fully aware I would not be as cool as him. She is still not a huge lover of school and hard work, but she does it. She is turning 8 next week, and is having a "good old fashion backyard soccer party." According to her. I begged for her to have it somewhere else, but she wanted it here. To me that is not simple at all.
Mags is loving 1st grade. Her teacher, Miss Simmington, is a doll. Maggie was not with her two best friends this year, and I thought that would upset her, but it really has not. I am proud of her for that. She is starting gymnastics tomorrow. She is taking it with Chloe, but was willing to take it all by herself if she had to. I was proud of her for that too. I think she will do really well, as she has self-taught herself more than most people can do after months of classes!
Kerri is in young fours this year. She has Ms. M and Mrs Fischer. So far, so good. She is as stubborn as always and does things when she is ready, but darn if she is not the funniest thing around. She is so self sufficient and is following in Maggie's footsteps of loving to decorate, change her clothes and do crazy gymnastic moves.
As I said, B is in 4 day Pre K with Mrs. Fine and Mrs. Patel. Mrs. Fine was the aide in her class last year and she loved her, so this was great. She has class with Jimmy and Brady and seems pretty happy there. I hear she is a big helper and doing amazing, but her teacher is so sweet, I can't imagine her saying anything else. She is doing soccer this year. It has been a bit of a roller coaster, she is very unsure about participating. She through a major fit on Saturday at home before the game (I was headed to Maura's game instead of hers), but apparently played great when she was there... even almost scoring a goal!
We had a wonderful summer with trips to Ohio, Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland, the Shore, and Lake Huron. Lots of driving, but relatively easy. Girls loved it all. Summer camp at EA went well too. Looking forward to that again next year!
I am 37 now. That is all I have to say about that.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
WOW show
Maura's class had there WOW show at the end of her first grade year. It was a reading of poetry by all the students in her class. I have to say, I was blown away. The show was pretty much student run (of course after tons of practice and guidance from the teacher leading up to the day). Every child got up and read 4 pieces of writing into a microphone in front of an audience of parents and family. Mo did great. She read a journal entry about the "horrible, terrible, no good day she and to go back to school after christmas break, a snake poem, a metaphor poem and one other (should have written this entry sooner!). I admit, as usual, I was the weeping woman behind the camera. It is pretty bad when your daughter has to warn you ahead of time to please, cry quietly! Maura, I was so proud of you that day and every day. What a great kid you are... and smart to boot!
Summertime
Well it is summer time round these parts (I guess round lots of parts). We are loving summer here. It has been busy but a good busy. We are staying up too late and sleeping even later (especially me). The girls have learned to entertain themselves in the morning when they wake up, and many times I do not even know they are awake. I have been enjoying these lazy mornings up until this week. This week the girls started camp at Episcopal and I started a week of babysitting. The girls were no too keen on going to camp at first; B practically cried herself to sleep the night before it started. But once they were there, they loved it. We have swim practice every day at noon, so we head over there right after camp. Next week the girls will be at Paoli Presbyterian for Bible Camp. They usually love this. Hope they do again this year!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Words of Wisdom from Maura...
"Maura, I got you these new Hello Kitty Underwear. Do you like them?"
"Well, I like underwear."
"Oh, would you rather have the Barbie? They had them too."
"It's underwear Mom, who cares what's on them? Nobody sees them."
"Let's have this same conversation in 10 years Sweetie!"
"Sure."
"Well, I like underwear."
"Oh, would you rather have the Barbie? They had them too."
"It's underwear Mom, who cares what's on them? Nobody sees them."
"Let's have this same conversation in 10 years Sweetie!"
"Sure."
Saturday, February 25, 2012
so true
As we were getting Maura's stuffed animal that is receiving the sacraments at Sunday school ready for tomorrow, I asked Maura if she was excited to receive them next year. "No" she says. "Why not?" "You know mom I just am not ready to grow up, and I think I am growing up too fast."
I couldn't agree more.
I couldn't agree more.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
It's a Wonderful Life
Yes it is. We had a great holiday. The girls fully enjoyed every minute of their time off from school. And you know what, I did too. Sometimes having everyone home for days and days and days, well, it can be overwhelming. But this time around, I really enjoyed not having a schedule, not having to be anywhere at any particular time. It was easy, and fun, and well, did I say this already, easy.
Christmas Eve we went to the Smiths. It is a nice tradition we have. We really had a great time this year. We went before church, had a little cocktail hour and present exchange. We then headed back to their house for a delicious dinner. It was easy to get the girls to get in the car and come home, after all, there was a special visitor coming that night!
We got home and did a quick snack for Santa, threw out the reindeer food, wrote a note to Santa and the tooth fairy (Maura lost her tooth again this year!) and went to bed. The girls woke up around 7:00 on Christmas morning and peered over the balcony to see that Santa did indeed come. They were thrilled. It was a lazy but fun and exciting day just staying at the house doing puzzles, performing magic shows and driving around our new (toy) minivan. B also did this with hair extensions in. These were her two favorite gifts of the year. Mags got an American girl Doll and lots of clothes. Maura got membership into the peep of the month club! And Kerri adored her Dora pillow pet. Both sets of grandparents came and spent the day with us. My dad made the girls Jewelry boxes... very sweet. Their names and his are engraved. I hope they will treasure it always,
We did the train and the light show the next day and exchanged gifts with the O'Reillys on Monday. The kids had a ball and loved all their gifts, and trip to the Please Touch Museum rounded off a great visit with the Arlington O'Reillys.
The rest of the week was spent doing some simple but fun things with the girls. NYE was even fun. We went for a hike at VF park and had a fabulous dinner at home in the dining room... table set by Mags. Roasted marshmallows, read my book. A great way to kick out the old and bring in the new. Oh, and we booked a trip to Mexico for our 10th anniversary with the Shorts! SO excited. All in all a great holiday. So sad it is over, so sad that another year has gone by and my girls are getting older and older. I wish I could bottle this time and keep it forever.
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