hanging on by a string

a little red box with a front tooth inside came home in my little boys pocket today.  he was so proud.  it happened during lunch.  he pulled and wiggled it and told me it was 'hanging all tangled up' but would not come out.  then finally it was in his hand.  he held on to it all through recess (can't miss recess).  then went to the nurses office to get his little red box.

and all the excitement of this little red box.  it has become a necklace.  sorry tooth fairy... he is not ready to part with this treasure.  this one is going to stay in that cute box and worn around his neck for some time.

It's time

Slowly but surely we are getting back into our routine.

School has started,we know which classroom to enter, where to hang our backpacks, where to go for pick up. What is expected for the day.

Landon had his first visit to the dentist. He was so excited to have his own turn in the chair. He braved it and climbed right up, much braver then myself. I am one of those people who will come up with any excuse to not go to the dentist. I dread the chair. But he seemed to love it until he heard the dentist mention that it was time to say bye bye to the paci.... Ut oh. Then the tears came rolling down his cheeks. Quickly he was given his very own toothbrush bag and yellow bouncy ball, that changed everything.

Now, it's time for me to finish the quilt I started, dare I say, a year ago. How the time flies. It's been patiently waiting on the top shelve of my closet. I hear it whispering for me to pick it up every time I pass. I have been trying to ignore it, but the urge to take it down and get it done is getting stronger.

Then there is the gym. Yes, it too is calling my name. Before today it had been 6 months since I had set foot on a piece of gym equipment. I have been told that hair, nail, and massage appointments do not really count. How unfortunate is that. So today we went. One boy at school, the other two and little girl with me. Everyone seemed fine. No one cried, all was going smoothly until.... The lady on the treadmill next to me had her tv set on the channel that shows the nursery. Then she looks at me and comments on the poor little boy standing there staring at the door. It's Landon, standing by the door waiting for me to come back and get him. Of course as I am doing my fast walk work out, my eyes are glued to the screen, I was sure he would get distracted and play. No sir, he stood, and stood,and stood. After a half hour I decided to go get him, poor little guy.
Anyway, the littles and I have made it back and with time my fast walk may turn into a run. It's time to not look pregnant anymore. It will take time , it's not top priority. The 4 little ones that got my belly looking the way it does are my number one.
Honestly the best part about being back at the gym was seeing all my gym friends. They to are getting everyone back to school, trying to lose their bellies, at least we have one another to laugh about it with. Cheers to all the other mamas out there!

friday

its friday and we have made it through the first week of school and back to our routine.  such fun times, seeing our friends, play dates.  getting to play with our cousins for the first time in a year.  i know, an entire year.  i picked up luke and logan from school, they could hardly contain themselves in their carseats on the way home.  luke was out of his seat and inside the house before i could blink, logan running right behind.  so good seeing them playing together.  fun times ahead with a weekend to hopefully relax and enjoy some down time....

xoxo

firsts

first day of first grade,

first day of pre-k,

first day at a new school making new friends,

first day of music together,

first day of turning over in her crib,

all this is so bittersweet, such a mix of emotions.  luke started yesterday, said he liked it, was excited to put on his uniform.  then told logan, you will not believe how long the day is.  logan was starting to get clingy, tears started to dwell in his eyes.  then he was welcomed with a box of legos sitting on the table.  it was a dream come true.  it made both our days.  his eyes lit up and he turned and told me, i am great at legos.

landon had his first music together class.  i think he liked it, hard to tell.  he was excited to have his own class, play and dance to the music, only asked to go home for lunch a few times.

speaking of lunch, today was the first lunch i have sat and eaten by myself in 6 years.  and honestly, i am not sure what to think. now that i have the time to think... all i think about is my children.  am i raising them right?  am i being the best mom i can to them?  i worry about it and hope i am doing it right.  there is always a bit of mommy guilt.  i love dropping them off in the morning and having a moment to myself.  pick up i dread. and its not that i do not miss them, love them... its because i never know how they will be after pick up.  they must hold every emotion in all day at school, then they come home and let it all loose on me.  even though i know its coming, even though i can spend all day thinking of better ways to calm the transition, it is still the hardest part of my day.  the last thing i want to do when we walk in the door after a long day is send someone to time out.  and time after time it happens.  maybe as the initial settling into the school year wears off we will find a better transition.

baby rolls and music

lovin these little rolls, can't get enough of this sleeping babe...

no naked boys running around the house is the rule.  although everything changes when its potty training time.  this little boy is doing great.  one day and he is getting the drift, he already went poo-poo and got his m&m's.  he shared one with me and when i asked again, he told me i already had one.  smart little guy, i tell ya.

me and my sister

with his older brothers out of sight, we had a relaxing afternoon.  after his nap he sat with his sister then read her his favorite train book.  i was lucky enough to have the camera close by.  moments like these do not come often and do not last long.
love them

Home again

Home again and settling back into our rhythm. Load after load of silver lake smelling laundry has been washed, it's all done, leaving the house smelling sweet.
This morning we met up with friends at the park. We played for hours and caught up on all of our summer happenings. We explored the garden and found our sunflowers full of seeds.

sunflower by luke

relaxing....

chicago time

Aaahhh, there is nothing as sweet as waking up with a bed full of little ones and fresh, clean linens. Especially after two weeks at silver lake. I feel so clean and refreshed. Today we are all smiles and can't wait to see uncle dale.
Funny though, we have all been cramped together, sleeping close enough for us all to touch. Now that we have room in the hotel to spread out a bit, the boys were all crying when they went to bed because Landon was to far away. So we made the changes and laid them all side by side, sandwiched together, and off to dreamland they went without a peep.
After breakfast, we wandered outside and found a few pill bugs (or pillow bugs as Logan calls them), these little guys were carried ever so carefully back to our room. Sorry Marriott, it seems so unnatural to be living indoors again, we had to bring something back...at least it was not the bags of sand.
As we were outside Logan asked me why grandma Meyer was not going to be with us today. I love that he is thinking about his great grandma, so blessed that he has her in his life. He misses her living in the cottage next door and being able to run over and admire her costume jewelry.

Silver Lake

Sitting down at the 'new' cottage. After a bright sunny day, hikes over the dunes, we are ready for a rainy day. Karen and erica go home today, wish they could be here a few more days. We have had great fun...beach, kayaking, dune buggy rides, whippy dip.

For today... Maybe ludington? A quest for a little aquarium home for two little toads?
Until later....
the sun came out, a beautiful end to our day

and a few more moments...

early morning with my yogurt boy

marge and gramma, bff's forever!

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we are family...