Summer Resolutions

I have a habit of setting goals and making resolution that I have no intention at all of keeping. I say "I think I'll stop watching so much TV after the kids are in bed" But I love tv, and therefore, have no actual plan to stop watching it. I say I'll get up an hour earlier everyday and go for a walk. But you know what? A walk at 7am is really no different than a walk at 11:15am except for the fact that I am less likely to get lost in the cranberry bog because I am actually functioning at 11 as opposed to 7. So this summer, all my goals are things I actually want to do. I think that significantly ups my chances of fulfilling them.

Here they are, my Summer 2010 Resolutions:

1. Travel, but not too far. Visit Boston, Nantucket, and take at least one camping trip before the summer is over.
2. Keep in touch with Julia, Hayley, and Ace's classmates and try to meet up with them for a playdate or a trip to the park or beach at least once a week.
3. Teach the kids the joys of sleeping late and eating breakfast at 10am, in our pajamas.
4. Keep the tv off during the day but don't be an stickler about it. If the kids want a movie day with blankets on the floor and popcorn, I'm all in.
5. Use rainy days wisely to get the house clean and organized, use sunny days wisely to get outside and enjoy the beach.
6. Take a walk alone at least three times a week. Try to run for at least a few minutes of it.
7. Take a lot of pictures.
8. Eat as many meals as possible outdoors (bonus: cleaner kitchen floor)

I'm sure I'll add to the list as the summer gets closer, any suggestions are welcome!

Busy

I knew this weekend was off to a good start when I realized at 8:20pm on Friday night that Friday Night Lights was on (and recording). For those who do not possess my skills at the fine art of the DVR, 20 minutes after a show begins is the perfect time to start watching if you can't wait a second longer to see a show but don't want to have to sit through 18 minutes of commercials. And just as my beloved FNL did not disappoint, neither did the rest of the weekend.
Saturday was T-ball (Ace "nailed it"-according to Ace) and soccer (the game was a tie which is the best possible outcome for Hayley because she doesn't like anyone to be disappointed). Then we went to McDonalds.  Since we moved here we have been really good at avoiding fast food but our fridge had no lunch food to offer except one slice of bread and a lot of string cheese so I caved and went through the drive thru. Ace proclaimed it the Best Lunch Ever because we got a collectible Shrek glass AND the happy meals were in boxes, not lame-o bags. When Andy got home from bike riding we went to run a few errands and ran into one of Julia's teachers at the Home Depot. The rest of the time in the store Julia was peering down every aisle searching for her other teacher because she thinks they do everything together. She was disappointed not to find her and had trouble understanding that her teachers had lives that did not involve each other and the school.  When we got home Andy watched a movie with the kids and started dinner so I could take a long walk alone. It felt great and wore me out. The kids were wiped out too so that made sleeping in on Sunday even sweeter.
This morning (and I use that word loosely since it was close to noon before we did anything today) we had pumpkin pancakes and bacon, cleaned up the house, and went to the park. Lucy took our breath away with her bravery on the big slides. We cooked out tonight and watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs before putting the kids down for an early bedtime.
It was such a great weekend, I hate to see it end. Andy works a 7 day work week this week to get in some flight time so it will be a while before we have this kind of family time again.
I asked all the kids before bed if they had a fun weekend and they all said yes. Except Julia. She said she did not have any fun. I asked why not and she said, "Because, I wanted to go to dunkin donuts and I don't know how to drive there."  Just goes to show you, you can't please everyone.

Brother and Sisters

The sun is back, it is our first week without story hour on Thursdays so we have a free morning and I'm using it to catch up on facebook and blogs and enjoy the breeze coming from my open windows. Lucy is feeding me her yogurt pretzels and Ace is in his firestation practicing manuvers (although to the unknowing observer it may look like he is in his bedroom dancing with a foam battle axe).
Lucy has slept the past two nights from 12-7 (she goes to bed at 8 but gets up around 11:30 to nurse). It may be a fluke but boy, does it feel great to get 7 hours of sleep. She also doesn't ask to nurse much at all during the day. After 5 years without a break, I am ready to stop nursing but my heart does hurt a little thinking that this is really it, my babies are all kids now. You know what is great, though? Watching them be kids together.  I love to walk into a room and see them all doing something together, hiding out in the rocket tent, reading books together, running in the yard playing sardines (although Lucy always gives away their location by yelling at whoever is supposed to be finding them, she is worried that they are the one that is lost). When Lucy wakes up in the morning, it is usually Julia that gets to be the first to say good morning. Sometimes I don't understand what she is trying to tell me and Hayley knows right away. The other day I made Lucy mad by wiping yogurt off her face and she ran to Ace for a hug. Maybe sometimes I wish I was her only Most Important Person but seeing her get closer to her brother and sisters everyday melts my heart. My childhood revolved around my sisters. My mom and dad were there of course, someone had to provide the popsicles. But when I think about who was there when I was happiest, it is my sister's faces that come to mind first. They invented personalities for my dolls, they helped me reenact our favorite episodes of The Brady Bunch, they played with babydolls when it wasn't cool anymore so we could be "grown ups" together. I know how lucky I am to have them so I know how lucky my children are to have each other.
(Ace taking Lucy for her first walk, July 2009)

I was up late last night and up early this morning. When Julia came home from school, she wanted to rest so we could go to the playground after we picked up Ace and Hayley. I had a long list of things that needed to be done around the house and I wasted a lot of time trying to find a pogo ball on Amazon so I didn't get it done in time. But I told Julia we could go to the playground anyway. When I picked up Ace he started fighting with Hayley and I got annoyed quickly. I told them if they could not stop fighting we would not to the playground (I secretly hoped they would fight just one more time so I would have a good excuse not to go to the park) and they kept fighting, and we didn't go to the park. It was a sunny day and we missed it because I was too tired. 

Ace wanted to sing all his songs for us tonight but he kept stopping and starting and shushing everyone. I got irritated and told him he had 10 seconds to sing us his songs or we were going to just go to bed. He kept shushing and stopping and starting the same song and we ended up going right to bed. 

I never did get my long list of housework done either. It wasn't a great day, and tomorrow it is supposed to rain. I think I''ve learned my lesson, when God gives you a day of sunshine and a chance to listen to your child sing, just shut up, soak up the sunshine, and listen to the music.

Mother's Day Tea

Today was the Mother's Day Tea at Julia and Ace's preschool. As well as being a day to celebrate how incredibly lucky I am to be their mom,  it was also study in how different two siblings can be.
Julia is in the morning preschool. She has been so excited about the performance they were going to do, she has been counting down how many "sweeps" are left until the Mother's Day tea and this morning she was up bright and early dressed in the ladybug dress my mom made, her sparkliest shoes, and her Birthday Girl crown. I laughed (on the inside) at how funny it is that the girl who wants the least attention loves the most attention-grabbing clothes. All the way to school she talked about the songs they would sing and the dancing they would do. She kissed me goodbye in the classroom and suggested I go home and shower and get into some prettier clothes.
When the kids came walking out, Julia was all smiles. Then, she realized how many people were there. The smile faded and her eyes got wider and wider. She danced about half the time, the other half she stood with her hands in her pockets and unintentionally flashed the audience by pulling her dress up over her head.  In other words, she was Julia, and perfect. I loved every minute of her performance and was so proud of her. After the 10 minute show was over, she was so exhausted. She is an introvert by nature, these situations where she is expected to be extroverted (which may or may not be a word) just suck the energy right out of her. We shared a cookie and some lemonade and I told her I was so proud of her. I asked if she had fun singing and dancing and she said "No." and ate another cookie.  We went home and she just wanted to lay down and watch her shows. It had been a very long morning for her.
At 2pm I went to see Ace, who is in the afternoon program. He had also been talking about nothing but Mother's Day Tea for days. When he walked out with his class, he waved to everyone, blew me a kiss, and skipped up to the front of the room. When it was his turn to read from the dinosaur book, he read his rehearsed line and then continued on with two or three extra facts. When they sang, he sang loud. When the danced, he danced with enthusiasm. After his 20 minute show, he was totally energized. He wanted to recap the entire performance, talk about our favorite parts, show off his dance moves some more. He was still bouncing around talking about the day at 6pm. He was Ace, and he was perfect.
They are so very different, and I am so very lucky.

Zoo pictures

I am going to keep my words in this post to a minimum after reading what I wrote last week, especially this quote:
"Sometimes it takes us 2 hours just to pick up a bag of birdseed or a birthday present for a friend, but we get out of the house and spend time together and the rest of the day I feel a sense of accomplishment."Could that sound any less impressive? If I had to fill out a resume today I doubt any potential employer would be blown away if I listed my recent accomplishments as: "Managed a trip to the Stop and Shop with 4 children without laying down mid-aisle in surrender"

So, here are the promised pictures from the zoo, including the ones Ace took before figuring out that the camera was backwards (you can click on them to enlarge)

Spring Break Part II

Some days just the thought of taking all 4 kids to the grocery store exhausts me and if I do attempt to run errands with all of them in tow, it easily unravels and ends in tears and humiliation (both mine). Other days, when the sun is shining and we are all full of happy energy, I love driving around town listening to Ace sing along to the radio and Lucy yelling at large trucks (she doesn't like them, I have no idea why). We don't get too much accomplished and I usually forget some essential items at the store. Sometimes it takes us 2 hours just to pick up a bag of birdseed or a birthday present for a friend, but we get out of the house and spend time together and the rest of the day I feel a sense of accomplishment. Last week I was lucky enough to have a lot of those days. We went to the park a few times, we went to the bookstore, the grocery store, soccer practice, the pet store. It was a great week. Friday Andy had the day off which was the best news because even though the week had been fun, by Friday I was exhausted and out of ideas for entertainment. We drove to Boston to go to the Zoo. It was small enough that we could see all the exhibits in just a few hours. After the zoo we went to Red Robin and watched Lucy tear her food into small pieces and then try and sneak them onto everyone else's plates. We even made it to Walmart where we got some things we really needed, like crates to put away the Christmas decorations that have been on the table in the basement for months. The kids all got to pick out one thing, 5 dollars or less as long as they could think of two reasons they needed it. Ace got a headlight because 1. All firefighters need them and 2. It would help him if he wanted to go in a tunnel. Julia and Hayley got watches  because 1. Hayley could tell us what time it is if we are outside with no clocks and 2. Julia found one that had Belle on it and wanted to wear it every day. Lucy got a baby doll because 1. Maamaa! Babbbeee! 2. Babbbeeee!!
Saturday after sports I declared that the rest of Spring Break must be dedicated to resting up for the return to school and the kids mostly cooperated with my declaration, the rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful.
I bought a disposable camera for the zoo and let Ace, Julia and Hayley take all the pictures, I'll get them developed and try to post them tomorrow. Ace took at least 5 pictures with the camera backwards so I'm especially looking forward to those close ups of his face.

Big Doings

It's school vacation week and so far, Mother Nature has cooperated and given us 2 beautiful sunny days to enjoy. Unfortunately, I still have no camera to capture these days. That might not be the worst thing. I've had fun playing with the kids and following them around the park without rushing to get my camera or catch the perfect shot.
My parents were in town this weekend and we had a great dinner with them on Friday at the 99. Lucy is out of the phase now where she is constantly trying to escape the highchair and we don't have to bring her own food with us which makes eating out a fun outing rather than a chore again. It was sad to see Grandma and Grandpa go home on Monday so to cheer everyone up we went to our favorite store to create our own Spring Break Survival Kit. One of the items we got was a huge roll of paper so the kids could color. Usually a roll that big lasts us a few weeks but yesterday the kids decided to spend the afternoon drawing a zoo and used up the entire roll on animals that they taped along the wall of the playroom. I am not one to discourage their creative endeavors (and I got to watch last weeks DVRed episode of Glee) so I don't mind, we'll just go back for more paper tomorrow.
Today our only errand was to buy a bag of birdseed but on the way we decided to go to the big park and then we spent a half hour or so checking out all the animals at the feed store except the lizards. I told Ace the lizards gave me the willies and he was confused and asked the clerk why they named the lizard Willy. Then the clerk was equally confused and I didn't want to hurt her feelings by explaining that I found her lizard creepy so I asked what the cat's name was to change the subject. The cat's name was Misty. Ace kept calling her Willy. He was obviously more confused than I realized.
Julia was on tv this morning. She did the Barnyard Boogie with Danisha on the Sunny Side Up Show. If you have a child that likes PBS Sprout I highly recommend submitting a picture of them for the Barnyard Boogie dance. I have never seen Julia so proud, we've already watched it 3 times today.
Lucy is going through the 18 month sleep regression phase. For the past two weeks she has been screaming her head off whenever we even approach her crib at bedtime. And she still wakes up multiple times at night. Yesterday we skipped naps and she went down without much fuss at 8 and stayed in her bed until around 11. Then she woke up and I brought her to our bed where she proceeded to stretch out and take up the entire queen sized bed. After a few hours of clinging to less than a foot of space I tried (unsuccessfully) to take her back to her crib. At 2:30 Julia came to the bed too and I was considering just giving up the bed completely and sleeping on the floor. Instead,  Andy took her to sleep in the couch. We are all exhausted.

I don't really know how to wrap up this entirely too long update, so here is the picture we submitted for Julia's television debut. Seriously, if I had known she would really be on tv, I would have spent a lot more time choosing the photo. This just happened to be the first picture of her face that I had on the desktop. She didn't mind but Andy was confused as to why in the world I would have picked this goofy shot for her first chance at stardom.

Long days

I took the kids to the park a while ago and was busy snapping pictures when Lucy demanded that I take her down the slide. Smart cookie that I am, I stuck the camera in my back pocket and took her down the slide. The camera objected to being pressed between my butt and the slide and has not worked at all since. I'm bummed because it was 2 days before Easter so I had to take our Easter pictures on Andy's crappy camera phone and now I'm missing all the great photo opportunities that Spring brings.
So what does this mean to you? It means that instead of cute and precious pictures of the kids, you get  my sappy ramblings about how cute and precious my kids are.
Or maybe not. I had a bad day Friday. It was rainy and we had no plans for the day (besides a mountain of laundry that I had put off for almost a week). The kids had no idea what to do with themselves. My day sounded a lot like this: "MommyI'mthirstyMommyI'mhungryMommycanwewatchamovieMommyIwantanotherpretzelMommyIthinkthatispooponthe couchMommyI'mhungryagain"
Seriously, it was nonstop. I sent the kids to bed at 7:45 and Saturday and Sunday were much better. But Friday, that was a doozy. 
That is life with 4 kids, some days just suck the energy right out of you. Even on those days, I can at least count on a few laughs out of them. Friday it was the fact that Ace was wearing underwear that were 2 sizes too big and kept losing them when the fell down into his pants. He didn't want to admit his underwear were too big so when I asked what he as doing he shouted "Give me some privacy!" while standing in the middle of the living room with his hands down his pants. And Lucy, who fought bedtime everyday last week but fell asleep on the couch and started snoring so loud I thought it was the dog.
That too is life with four kids, the laughs and joy they bring me can transcend even a mountain of laundry and 12 hours of whining preschoolers.
(I'm still dreading the next rainy day)

Take me out to the ballgame.

Now the commotion of Easter weekend with five house guests is over and Spring is kicking into high gear here in New England, we are getting ready for...da da da da... Spring Sports! No one is more excited about this than I am because, well,  no one else is excited about this. Ace was excited about T-Ball until he found out that Greyson and Jack are on the Royals and he is on the Marlins and now he asked if we could just stop talking about T-ball altogether. Hayley keeps forgetting what sport she is signed up for (soccer) and Julia is bummed that she isn't four yet because there are no sports for 3 year olds. So, Saturday is not a big day for anyone but me. I love the routine of getting up early(ish) and heading out the the ball field and I love that after the practice and game and celebratory stop at Dunkin Donuts are over the kids are so pooped out that the don't mind if we spend the rest of the Saturday watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians and laying on the couch (and by "we" I do mean "me").
I love Spring. But then again, I love almost all the seasons, especially in the early transitional days when I really appreciate the new-ness of the season.
And because the seasons change but some things never do, Ace still loves everything related to firefighting. In fact, just tonight he informed me that he does not have enough gear. When I asked what he still needed his number one request was the jaws of life.