This is my time!

So it's day 2 of school for the 3 older ones. (4 if you count that Hannah and Timmy started on Tuesday) It's also day 2 of just Micah and I at home. He misses his cousin Lucy but he's been enjoying alone time with mama. I know I have been enjoying him. I've thought a lot about what I'll do in the afternoons while Micah and Lucy are napping and I've come to the conclusion that nap time is my time!

The first thing I came up with was that I could catch up on chores and house cleaning while the little ones nap. Nah, that's no good. What fun that?! The l.o.s* won't nap forever and me time is very scarce and hard to find when you're a mama. So as long as they nap during the afternoon, that 2 hour block of time is for me. I can scrapbook (yay!) or exercise. I can take that coveted shower that is also hard to come by as a mama. I can read a book or spend my time the Lord. I can watch a movie (uninterrupted) or do...here it comes....absolutely nothing! I succeeded with that last one yesterday afternoon. I just sat there zoning out on the computer. I came across this site ( I saw it on a friend's facebook site) called People of Walmart and it was good for quite a few laughs. Check it out sometime!

I have no idea how my me time will look when naps are outgrown, but I'm sure I can come up with a creative solution for quiet time in the afternoon.

*little ones

Kenan had a great first day of school yesterday. The most precious moment was when we met the bus after school and Kenan rushes to Micah, gives him a great big hug and says "I missed you Micah!" I wish I would've gotten a picture of that moment, but from where I was standing and how fast it happened and siblings hugging me, it was pretty impossible. The moment is burned forever in my heart though. So very sweet! I was a little concerned with how lunch time would go. Would he remember to ask for help with opening his thermos or his pudding? Would he be able to open his juice box? Would the teacher know that he needs help? I asked him how lunch went and he looks at me with the biggest grin and says, "I have leftovers!" He managed to eat his chips and pudding, and drink his juice box. He didn't eat his dinosaur pasta, or his yogurt, string cheese, or grapes. That's okay though. He won't starve. He'll learn to eat his lunch or he will be very hungry later! He colored me 3 pictures and his favorite part was learning. That right people! He loved learning! That's my boy!

Kenan's first day of Kindergarten

Kenan started Kindergarten today! All the anticipation leading up to this lead to a case of the first day jitters this morning. He told me that he was really nervous. He said "I've never been on a school bus before" even though he'd been so excited to ride for the last 2 years. He was concerned that he wouldn't find his teacher and that he didn't know where his classroom was. While getting dressed, he worried about not being able to fasten his pants at school after he goes potty. And he said he would miss me very much. Oh Kenan, mommy is going to miss you very much too!

Yesterday I got teary eyed about the thought of him going off to school all day long. He said, "mama, I'm only going away in the morning and I'll be back after school and run and give you a big hug when I get home! I love you mama!"

Last night he didn't want to stop hugging me because he would "miss me so much." He told me that he was bringing me to school with him so that he could play with me.

After much reassurance and me tucking kisses into his hand* he was dressed and ready for his first day of school! The bus comes at 8:31 a.m. and all the kids were ready to go at 8:00 a.m. So we went out and took pictures.

When he got to school he got off the bus and was so excited because there was a girl that he met yesterday on the same bus! They held hands the whole way into the school and the whole way to their classroom it was adorable!

I cried throughout this morning, but when I start to get sad I just start to pray. Whatever I'm thinking at the moment about Kenan's day or Hannah or Timmy I try to turn into a prayer. I really thought of all the kids, I'd jump for joy the day Kenan was off to school, but really I'm not. He's growing up and I know it has to come. He's a challenge at times, but he's such a joy to have around most other times. I sometimes look back and know that I'd do things differently with him. I would react differently to somethings, but then I think I loved those years with him at home and how special they were. I don't remember a lot of the "bad" times. It's amazing how that is so true! I was always told that the "bad" times will be soon forgotten and the good times will stick with us forever. I never really understood that until my kids started off to school. I was also told to enjoy those early years because they go by so fast. When I'd hear that, I'd say yep, they sure do! But until Hannah started Kindergarten, I never fully understood what it meant either.

So, as I look back on these last 5 or so years with Kenan at home I can truely say I've enjoyed 99.9% of those moments and that other.1% I have forgotten.

*The Kissing Hand

First day of school

Today is the first day of school for Hannah and Timmy. The morning went great with no problems at all! Pictures went good and Micah even cooperated (something he has been know to not cooperate with lately) and got his picture taken too!

Hannah is going into 6th grade! Oh my she's in middle school! Oh, I was going to keep "mum" about this but those flowers were purchased yesterday for the sole purpose of having some color in the background of the pictures.

Timmy is going into 4th grade and he has the best teacher! Mr. Wammer (short a sound) was Hannah's 4th grade teacher and he is phenomenal. He is a perfect match for Timmy. And yes, that is a bow tie he is wearing. Too adorable!!!

After we met their bus at school, Hubby and I brought Kenan, Micah and Lucy to the zoo for the morning. A little tip for parents of kids at home - the first day of school is a perfect day to go to the zoo! Not busy at all!

In other news, we went to the store to buy a prize for Kenan. I told him at the beginning of this summer that if he learned how to write his name before school started, he would get to pick out a prize. So today was the day to pick something out. We gave him some choices, star wars guys or a webkinz. He picked out a scottie dog webkinz named that he named Champ. He loves the little guy! Kenan starts school on Thursday so stay tuned for more back to school pictures.

Brotherly love

Last night Hubby and I were watching the corniest movie but it was so fun! The movie, Mall Cop, was very funny and we had fun sitting back and watching a movie that was just goofy! Well we were halfway through when we hear a scream and we go running upstairs to check it out. Kenan had woke up to go potty and, afraid that Kenan was sleepwalking, Timmy took it upon himself to help Kenan back to bed. Well, Kenan, who was half asleep still, didn't want help and freaked out. Thus the scream we heard. After going back to bed, he got up and climbed into bed with Micah. I moved him and put him back in his bed. A little later, I went into check on them and Kenan was sound asleep on the floor next to his brother.

This morning when I asked him why he was sleeping on the floor by Micah, he said, "because he wanted someone to be by him."

Let's play!

I woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about how this is the last weekend of summer. I don't know if my previous post triggered these thoughts or what. I'm looking forward to school starting and getting in to a new routine, but I am going to miss my kids. Hannah is going into 6th grade. Middle school! That's crazy enough to think about without remembering I have son who's going into 4th grade and another son starting Kindergarten! We've had a great summer and the fighting has been minimal, compared to other summers. Sure there's been some bickering but mostly in the last couple weeks has it gotten so noticeable that you can just tell that school is just around the corner.

My goal for today is just to enjoy each of them. Not that I already haven't been doing that, I have. I've just sat and talked with them, they've helped me around the house, I've played with them, watched some movies with them and many other things too. I woke up this morning and I really just wanted to play with them and nothing else. So instead of planning things to do, I'm going to let the moments with them lead the way. If it's a hug or a silly dance my kids want, then so be it. I tend to picture a day going a certain way, and then day doesn't (because with kids, the day doesn't always go the way you plan) and we all get crabby. There might be some scraps along the way today but that's okay.

So far today, I've danced with Kenan to Imagination movers.* Timmy and I had a little disagreement this morning about orange juice. He got upset and I went to talk to him. We talked and he cheered up. He fell into my arms for a big hug. This is just a start to a wonderful day with my kids.

Summer Memories

Let's see, I'm looking back over the summer thinking of all the fun we had. I'll start with once the kids were out of school.

On June 3rd Kenan, Micah and Lucy, and I went to the Como Zoo to meet Timmy's class. It also happened to be Timmy's birthday that day. I didn't find Timmy until after lunch right before we were going to leave. Once we found each other, I could tell it made Timmy's day. I followed him and his friend to a couple rides and then we started for home.

This is Kenan after the fire truck ride.

This is Timmy and his friend.

The next thing we did this summer was throw Kenan his first friend party ever! He turned 5 and had a dinosaur themed party.

This is the group of kids (only time I could ever get them lined up for a group photo) waiting to break the pinata.

Kenan finished t-ball. He got his trophy that he'd been waiting for all summer! See, he's had sibling go through sports and at this age all the kids get a trophy no matter what. He knew that. Some of the other kids on the team did not looked at Kenan like "wow! How did you know we were going to get a trophy?"

Here he is with his trophy

We sent Timmy and Hannah off to camp this summer as well and we sure missed them when they were gone. Timmy went one week and he came home, then 2 days later Hannah went up to camp for a week.

This is Timmy before he left for camp with his friend. They were so excited!

This is Hannah on her way to camp.

We celebrated the 4th of July the next day with the parade going right by our house. We attempted to camp out the night before in our new tent. Didn't work out so well with everyone lighting off fireworks. So we slept in our own beds.

Here is a picture of most of the group waiting for the parade to start

The next we went Strawberry Picking. We picked over 17lbs of Strawberries in one hour with 5 kids who all helped out. We came home and made strawberry pie with a recipe I found here. My pie turned out nothing like hers but it sure was tasty!

A shot of the group picking the strawberries.

Here is Kenan eating the strawberries.

Here is a picture of my lovely pie! I had the hardest time with the crust but it was so yummy!

The next exciting event of our summer was when Timmy's baseball team won 1st place in the regular season.

Go Yankees!

We went to the zoo a few times this summer...

In July Hubby came with us. This was taken in the grizzly bear area.

Como Zoo with cousins...

MN Zoo African Safari with my friend Jessica and her boys...

We took our first camping trip as a family to Lake Louise State Park

We also camped out in our backyard, which was lots of fun!

The same weekend we camped in our yard, we visited Historic Fort Snelling. The kids were so excited to taste rock candy and see army guys!

Just this past weekend we went to the State Fair as a family. We ate our way through the fair, went down the giant slide, went through the Haunted House, went to the Ye Old Mill, and went up the Space Tower.

The summer has been lots of fun and very busy, filled family, friends and many happy memories!

Kenanisnms

Here are a few of the latest things that our 5 year old son Kenan has said to us that just blow us away at times.

1. On Saturday as we were driving to the State Fair, he pipes up from the back of the van "all animals have tails"* Now just think about that one for a minute. Don't worry, take your time. I'll be back to that one in a minute.

2. As he was snapping pictures around the house, Kenan stops and takes a picture of me (it got deleted otherwise I'd show it). He looks at it and says "WOW! That's impressive."

3. The other night when Jeff was tucking in Kenan, he looks over at Jeff and says "Papa, you have some giant man-sized boobies."

4. As he was packing up to go to Grandma and grandpa's for a sleepover Kenan says to me, "mama, I'm to help Grandma because she's an old lady!"

5. One afternoon, we were playing Go Fish with his Spongebob cards. He asked me if I had Mr. Krabs. When I said Yes, he responded** in Mr. Krabs fashion (picture a deep piratey old man voice) "arr arr arr, I love money!"

6. On the way home from the fair on Saturday, Kenan was kicking Hannah's seat and just pestering everyone. I told him that he needed to go to his room when we got home. Our conversation went a little like this:

me: "Kenan, you have to go to your room when we get home since you can't stop pestering everyone."

Kenan: "okay. but for just a couple minutes"

me: "no you will stay in there until I say you can come out."

Kenan: "how long will that be? a couple minutes?"

me: "no. but you will not come out of your room until I say you can."

Kenan: "I'll just come out after a couple minutes."

me: "How about you stay in your room for one hour?! (said more out of frustration, than a question)

Kenan: "1 hour? Sounds good to me! 1 hour is my middle name!"

This resulted in tons of laughter and then he ended up staying in his room for about 15 minutes or so.

7. Hoping to see what he's say when asked what his middle name was, Kenan responded "trouble! Trouble is my middle name!"

*we had a hard time thinking of any animals without tails. When it comes to 5 year olds, all creatures are animals and not really classified by reptile, mammal, bird, etc. We did ask Uncle Mike and he thought of primates. Primates don't have tails. If you can think of others please post them in the comments.

**Kenan does his impression of all his favorite Spongbob Characters and I will link a video soon.

***if you can think of other Kenanisms I'd love to read about them. Post them in the comments.