Goodbye sweet taggy

My sweet girl LOVES HER TAGGY. That is what she calls her blanket - that has a tag on it that she likes to rub on her face when she sleeps. She also has a small part that she sucks on. This blanket is no where NEAR as gross as Monkey's blanket that we all named "Stinky". Because really - it stunk.  

I would wash Stinky, and it would still be crunchy. He would stick that thing in his mouth and sleep. SO all night long he drooled on it. It was disgusting and no one, I repeat NO ONE would touch that thing except for him. 

When he was about 5ish, I just cold turkey took it from him and told him it was over. He couldn't sleep with it. Ever. Again.  He was fine with it...not like when he was younger and I had to wash it...

(that picture is so sad and pathetic...poor Monkey)

He now has a large blanket he sleeps with, but doesn't put it in his mouth.

We've been threatening the same thing with Mini P for 2 years. Since she only sucked on the tag, we were less adamant about it.

However, for her 7th birthday, I started warning discussing it with her for about 2 weeks prior. I would tell her that she was a big girl and that she had a choice - she could get a new blanket or just cut off the tag. Her statement back to us was always "Don't you want me to sleep at night???". Manipulation at its finest.

After many tears and discussions, she decided that she would just get a new blanket. We found an old one we had packed away here and she got a new super soft one for her birthday. 

Taggy got put up high on the shelf in her closet, and things went well for about 2 weeks.

Then I found this on the floor in her closet:

Do not turn over...but look what's on the back...LOL!

She started telling me how sad she was without her Taggy. How much she missed her...it was sad.  The note remained on the floor in her closet because I was too chicken to admit I read it. Admitting it meant that she might try to talk me into getting it down.

But alas...it came down.

I gave her the option of cutting off the tag, but she couldn't have it with the tag on. It is about $5k for braces these days and it would be great if ONE of the kids could avoid that.

So...we cut it off...

She was sad and teary and emotional. But she did it. 7 years old, I know, but this is a girl who LOVES her sleep and she LOVES her sleep friends. Anyone who values sleeping kids understands you do what it takes to keep kids in their beds at night without locking them in :).  Since she cut it off, she has slept with it, and is fine without the tag. She is happy to have her old friend back in her bed....and is likely sleeping better :)

Time flies...

and we are having fun...

2014 family photo fun

But I've neglected to get on to my computer long enough to blog. I've written many blogs in my head tho, so...I think that counts...mostly.

I keep expecting that I will recover acclimate to having the kids in school, but that seems to be a very slow process. Somedays I wake up wondering what I was thinking...homeschooling was easier and allowed us to be in pjs until noon. 

However, the kids are doing great in school. I don't always agree with the public school philosophies, but I chose this, and so we just adapt :). All 3 little kids enjoy school and are excelling. Agent P tested in the gifted program - I'm pretty sure that it was his ability to arm fart and belly roll (I really need a video of this - it is quite the party trick) - but apparently they measure it on his ability to think outside the box. It isn't an academic standard necessarily, just a measurement of taking subjects to different levels. Whatever, he enjoys it :). 

The twins have been doing their own school work (there was a small hiccup the first week when Mini P was 'helping' Monkey). I knew that Mini P would adapt and excel, my biggest worry was Monkey. He is very...laid back. He is not concerned about academics really, he is a typical 'baby' of the family - the jokester, fun loving kid. But he has really done better than expected and is excelling.

A-Dog, as always, self starts and doesn't require us to question where he is with homework or anything. Thank goodness. I'm not an academic enabler - I believe that once they get to middle school, they had better learn to manage their time, work and learn to work out things with their teachers. Mama doesn't have time to remember all that stuff (like homework and book reports and tests...lol!)

A-Dog turned 17. He is such a great teenager, everyone says so. We agree. He has a big heart and is truly fun to spend time with. He even likes to go to the movies with us and will get my sweet husband and I to take him. I think it is just so we'd pay...

He's been doing some stream broadcasts at football games. Mostly he is the 'voice' of the play by play, but pre-game and halftime, he gets on camera.

Not the best pic, but it's hard to take a picture of my tv :)

A-Dog has really made a name for himself in Cross Country. He was team captain this year as a Junior and will remain captain next year as well. He has challenged himself as a leader and as a runner. It was not always easy, and there were times of defeat and frustration and let down. He is learning that it doesn't define him, but what molds him.

Then the twins turned 7. I have to say, 7 is easier than 3.  I look back and I'm eternally grateful to have made it to a place where my kids can shower and dress by themselves. It's the little things that make me happy :)

3rd Bday

7th Bday

I know how blessed I am to have twins and see how different they are each day. The each wrote an essay on what they are thankful for - for Thanksgiving. Monkey is thankful for "his dog Hank, and food...like cookies".  Mini P is thankful for "God and her family". :)

Of course, Agent P has no birthday...until May. But of course, he is still around :)  He is my tester of boundaries and limitations. 

He is also an amazing soccer player and we enjoy watching him take on kids bigger and taller than him and come out on the other side with the soccer ball.

I'd love to say that I'm going to blog better...however, I recently had to take a very in depth personality test and it deduced what I already know....I'm a procrastinator by nature. Since I already knew that, I'm not surprised, and I'm willing to learn to accept myself for WHO I AM...procrastination and all :).  I mean, we have to love ourselves for who we are right? Flaws and all!

Cheers!

It started with a storm

Summer monsoons here have been busy and loud and sometimes crazy. 

The dog has decided that in his old age, he's now an inside dog (he just celebrated his 8th birthday by binge eating a bone and mesquite beans...you know it's a GREAT birthday if you puke it all back up!).


But, let me preface this with the fact that I also got tired of looking all over the neighborhood to find him.  Plus...since he has a "My Name is Hank, call my mom at 555-0000" (not my number), I found that I was running out of excuses as to why he was wandering ...AGAIN. So that has been a plus.

Add to that, he was often so far that I had to put him in the back of my truck. And he would leave a mess like this:

Those are saliva drips - and they are all over my stadium seat and carpet, as well as the back seat where he hung his head. SO gross.

The biggest problem is that EVERYONE LOVES HIM.  He makes people feel sorry for him. One lady was like 'I gave him some food and water...he looked so hungry, like he'd been out for a while'...lady, you were TAKEN, totally snowed over by my overweight chocolate lab. He is NOT hurting for food. He gorges himself mesquite beans every chance he gets. Is he pathetic? By all means yes. Starving? I think not.  The Vet was not super impressed with his 3-year weight loss achievement of 3lbs. He's a big boy, we've heard it many times. 

If the neighbors would stop letting him hang out with them and giving him snacks and juse SEND HIM HOM, we might be able to drop another 2lbs next time he goes in!

But that is neither here nor there. 

The point is, he loves going for walks on his own. He is not swayed by our new state-of-the-art-in-the-ground-high-voltage-shock-for-stubborn-dogs electric fence. His neck fat protects him from any sort of shock impacting his large frame. OR - No pain, no gain.

Either way, there is no lesson learned in the small shock he gets if he chooses to leave the yard. I cannot fence in my property, it is just not a feasible option.

So, back to the storms. Which was the original storyline that I have only slightly deviated from.

This summer has been unusually loud and thunderous. Hank has decided that he's actually terrified of thunder and would like to be with the family during these very scary times. 

Ok. Fine. 

The first time I was like 'it is a really bad storm'...and let him in.

The second time I was like 'it's not that bad, but his ears are more sensitive'...and let him in.

The third time I was like 'I think that storm is actually about 40 miles east of here'...and in he came.

Now, he just comes in whenever I am home. Apparently he doesn't bother my sweet husband and is just FINE laying outside. But as soon as I get home, he just can't believe his luck! He jumps up and down and is so happy to see me!!!

Then ends up here:

Which really is better than here:

Cheers!

I'm not that girl.

I was in Target the other day, stopping off at the in store Starbucks (beyond handy, let me tell you), 'rewarding' myself for making it through the store unscathed and somewhat sane. 

Except I was alone, so justifying the 'reward' was slightly more complicated, but I managed to come up with a good reason why I could still get my Mocha...it wasn't all that complicated really - I am very good at self reward so I have a top 5 list of reasons "Why I Need a Reward" but that is certainly for another time.

It was then that I realized.

I just went shopping. 

Alone.

While the kids were in school.

I used to be the girl (we will say girl cuz lady sounds old and I don't want to be in that category yet) who had to take 3 kiddos shopping with me. 

ALL. THE. TIME.

Back when the twins were still in a stroller and there were no carts at Target for small kids, so I had to purchase only what I could carry or stack on top of the stroller. I was NOT going to drag a shopping cart behind me, push a stroller and keep track of a toddler. Not this girl. There is nothing strong enough at Starbucks to justify that amount of ridiculous.

As they got older - and by older I mean 3 - I let them walk. That was nearly fun 1 in 10 times. 

Then Target invested in the "I have more than 1 kid that needs containment" carts...we tried that. Once. Y'all, do you know those have kid seats that FACE each other? So yes, they could just sit and kick each other. Boy THAT was fun.

Walking it is.

But the other day while doing my 1 cart shopping I noticed 2 different mom's trying to juggle and struggle with not only the kids in the  'kick your sibling cart', but with driving of the actual cart itself. 

I just stood and thanked my lucky stars that I never really got on board with using that cart.  We evolved. I bribed bought popcorn to keep them occupied while we shopped and frankly it became easy and routine (yet, still I rewarded myself..obviously...)

But it made me realize just how drastically my life has changed in the last 3 months. 

I am no longer home schooling. It is bittersweet. 

We no longer read our read-alouds on the couch each morning in pjs.  I don't write curriculum or spend time inputting and researching next weeks work. We no longer go to the library and bakery on Fridays together. I no long can get laundry done regularly because I am at work 3 days a week and the other 2 seem to fill up with stuff. I have to wear something besides shorts or yoga pants to work.  We won't even discuss dinner and when or what we eat...

But I am a girl making a transition. Our life has changed and the path is what it is supposed to be and adapting is all we can do! 

But just so you know, this is what it means to be an adult...(by Mini P age 6.5yrs)

I think I have accomplished that  :)

Cheers!

Then off to his Jr year...

This really bothers me.

1st day of Junior year

I mean wasn't this just last year???

ADog age 8.5

Maybe the year before.

I am bothered that time flashes right before me!

I am proud of the person he is...but he is growing up so very fast. 

This year, he is allowed to drive to school.  Only Juniors and Seniors can get parking permits at school...

So, he drove off...

I know many people struggle with the teenage years. Moody kids. Disrespect. Bad behavior. Homework issues...

But I can say with all honesty, we are enjoying this time with him as a teenager. He is fun and interesting and level headed. He is great to talk to and listen to him talk about his passions. He has goals set for himself and has taken on leadership roles in several areas of his life. And I never have to ask him if his homework is done...he just does it. Crazy right???

If only the other 3 were paying attention to this...  :)

Cheers!

Why Homeschooling was easier...

So, off to school they go...

Mini P ready for 1st grade!

Monkey...1st grade

Agent P, nervous for 4th grade

After homeschooling Agent P for 3 years (1st-3rd) and the twins for essentially 1 (kinder) because really...preschool is just playing and investigating...right??  
So when a new school opened up out in our district, a K-8 with only 2 classes per grade, we decided to take the plunge now rather than have to be on a wait list. The schools in our district are very full due to their A+ and Excelling status. 

HOWEVER.

Now I have to make 3 lunches, get 3 people to eat breakfast, AND get people to school. On time.

I can tell you all those things are a challenge for me.

Especially when they used to stay in pjs until 10. or 2pm. Everyday.

Their lunch looks like a snack fest, often with no rhyme or reason to it.  I figure it's healthy, who cares what it is exactly.

Monkey takes a hotdog.  That's what he will eat. Who am I to argue?  At least it is nitrite and nitrate free. That's something I'm sure.

Luckily, school starts at 8:20am.  It is a 15 minute drive.  We have, so far, not been late.

By much.

But really tips the balance scale over is after school.

snack. homework. reading. chores. dinner. Who has time for all that??? Certainly not ME!

3 days a week I am now WORKING. WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT?????  

Dinner is a just a pipe dream.

2 nights a week I just leave and go workout.

I am pretty sure that is totally supported by "The Foundation for Women who don't want to cook anyway".  

Sometimes you just have to step away.

But, all in all...they are doing well. They like making new friends. I'm pretty sure that's all 1st graders do all day. 

Agent P apparently is the "All Around All time lunch recess basketball champion" so he says. So, I'm positive that he has adjusted to school life.  That and the fact that his teacher uses incentives like 'classroom money' keeps him engaged...what 9 year old doesn't like the idea of earning money?

Hopefully, I can allocate time for my blog...so we can share our new adventures..

Cheers!

We will now call this meeting to order!!!

Quiet down Supreme Procrastinators, quiet down!

This meeting will now come to order. 

I am here as the President of the Supreme Procrastinators. (Of course, no one came to the meeting...they put it off..again...figures.)

But look, I AM HERE. I know you are wondering what on earth happened. Again.

I do so good for a while, and then I'm not home for so long that I just don't get on the computer enough.

Then I read a book or 5 on my Kindle.

OR watch 1 of the 31 DVR'D shows that I have - some are full seasons that I haven't even begun.

OR I begin a new series on my Amazon Prime and watch THAT on my Kindle. (have you been watching Downton Abbey??)

(notice I have not said "and then I cleaned my house". Just note that for future use).

Anyway. 

Spring is over people. O.V.E.R. OVER. It is stinking hot here. H.O.T. HOT. (I don't really know why I'm spelling words twice. I really need to cut back on the caffeine I think.)

Anyway - here is spring in a nutshell (in absolutely no particular order):

We played soccer - the season is Oct-Feb. And, since we are still in this fiscal year, I'm not too far behind.

Monkey after he scored a goal. Literally, 1 of the only 3 he scored all season because he just doesn't want to actually put in too much effort. We still refer to him as our observer. He was excited yes, but then offered to sit out so that other kids could play.

Formulating a game plan...or discussing snacks. Depends who is talking.

Mini P scored at least 2 goals a game, sometimes 4. She is VERY competitve and does NOT celebrate her goals. Just turns and walks back the other direction, giving out a few high fives. I supposed constant scoring gets old ;)

We met friends at a wonderful park that had a HUGE outdoor covered play area, rated the #1 play area in the area, highly recommended. Only to find out that it was closed because there was an Ostrich Festival that was later that day and the entire park was closed. Gated up and closed.  So what did we do (after walking around the entire thing, begging security to ask if we could just play for a little while, and googling what the heck an Ostrich Festival was...) we googled to find another park close by.

 So we loaded up our crews and found a park that we seriously overran with our schmear of kids ages (from left to right) 8.5,7,6,6,5,5.  AND in theory, we have figured out that either one of us logistically could have birthed them since the are spread so perfectly in age :).  We have also been known to shout  say things in public like "I'm so glad I could help you with your kids today", "what on EARTH are YOUR kids doing?"  That's how you know you have a good friend!


Agent P turned 9. I have to admit. 8 was not my favorite age. 8 is full of attitude and sass. So far, 9 is just as challenging. But, all in all, this kid is very smart and outgoing. He tests the limits of everything. 

What ELSE would you do with a party hat??

I suppose you could make a mohawk..

This was at summer sleep away camp through our church. Agent P was the ONLY elementary age kid (3rd-5th) that got to the top of this climbing wall.

He decided not to play baseball this year, and he did Track and Field. It doesn't matter what he wants to do, as long as he does something that burns off little boy energy!

   

Phew!!!  Look how much I've typed!!! Let's call this part 1.  We can all hope that Part 2 comes soon!!!  

Cheers!