The first day of school

Last night as spent making lunches, making sure school supplies were all together and loading the back of the suburban with more supplies than Wal-Mart!!! And, there will be more to get when my oldest gets home from school as the jr high does not have a specific list. It has to come from each teacher! I think I am just going to open my own school supply store or become a professional supply shopper. I have shopped every two weeks for the last 6 getting things together for 5 kids in school. Whew!

This morning the bread was baked sliced and turned into sandwiches (yes, I am going for mom of the year here!LOL). Breakfast was served. The clothes laid out last night were put on, hair brushed, teeth brushed (I hope *grinning*) and we were off to school. We left early which around here, as I am sure it is true everywhere, the first day of school makes for more traffic than any other day. My first grader is asking me to walk him into class. I am trying to decide how I can do this and still get everyone to school on time and not get into the really heavy traffic when he grabs his stuff, gives me a kiss and hug, and disappears out the door. There goes one! My #5 is starting 1st grade! Mommy moment 'sniff' Then we venture to the next school where it dawns on me as she steps out of the car that #3 child is now in middle school. Another mommy moment - sniff, sniff, tear - On to campus number 3. Oh No! #4 child is now in intermediate school!!!! What is going on here! None of them are that old!!!!! Sudden major mommy moment with mommy wanting to grab all her babies and bring them all back home! But, no. Now it is to campus number 4. On the way, my #2 child reminds me that next year he will be in high school. Well, not if I have anything to say about it! I can keep him in 8th grade forever!!!!! HA! Of course, we all know that is not going to happen. As I started driving to #6 child's pre-K, he starts singing happy birthday...... yep, I am glad I took the day off from work as the tears are flowing. It got even worse when #1 child who is in college and lives with my dad called me and remembered my birthday. Then my husband called to see if I was home. He stopped by and brought me roses and cupcakes.

Needless to say it has been an emotional day! And it is just now 10:30am.....

School starts tomorrow???

My baby starts school tomorrow!

We have put him in private school for Pre-K and he starts tomorrow! Yikes! His teacher is Miss Amanda (yes, just like his sister) and he will be going 3 days a week. Fortunately, he does not need his school supplies until next week. I will probably pick a few up this evening so he has a reason to carry his backpack tomorrow.

Meet the teacher is this evening for Amanda and Jason. The school district was generous enough to give 15 minutes between the meetings to get from one school to another. Hmmmm.....we will see how it works!

Wish me luck!

Last night was interesting

My oldest boy came by last night to get his guitar and bring me the football schedule so I can watch him play in the band. (We love marching band, it is paying for his college). While he was here my husband came home and decided to challenge Ben to some wrestling. Ben did not want anything to do with it as he was afraid his dad would get hurt. I did not want them wrestling as I was afraid they would go all out and I would end up at the emergency room with both of them trying to explain what had happened and that it was not abuse! LOL! I insisted they agree to not break any fingers as Ben has band camp this week. Well, they went at it and Ben got the best of his dad twice. And, of course, this was in the front yard where all the teenagers walking around the neighborhood had a front row seat! Johnny kept saying that he had "let" Ben get the best of him. After it was all over Ben, with a silly grin on his face, asked me if that now meant he was the "dominate male" at the house. I asked him if he was ready to start supporting the whole family and he decided he did not want that role.

And, as is typical around here, at one point when Ben was getting the best of Johnny, the youngest boys jumped on Ben to help their dad. It got him laughing enough that he lost his grip. Then we learned how fickle their loyalty is........Johnny was starting to get the better of Ben at one point and they jumped on HIM to save their brother! They were just watching to see who was winning and break it up so it would last longer.

Ben and Drew were wrestling and Drew would start laughing every time he picked Ben up so he naturally dropped him and Ben got him. I think if they ever seriously got into it, Drew would win. But, playing......Drew just laughs too much!

I should probably call Ben this morning and be sure he can still move with all the wrestling he was doing!

We are picking up the packet to enroll Luke in preschool today. Please pray everything goes smoothly. I have a really good feeling about this.

I have to finish up the fall calendar for youth today too. Everything is pretty much in place, I just have to finish getting the materials together and do the final planning for the activities in September.

Which means I had better get busy!

Where did the weekend go?

Wow this weekend went by fast! And I don't really think we did anything!

I started Christmas shopping on Friday! Yeah Me! Friday afternoon I took the kids to Hobby Lobby and will be going back today as I got some more Christmas ideas. I used to have all my shopping done by October 1st and all my wrapping done by Thanksgiving. It certainly made the holidays easier to enjoy. I am determined to get as close to that as I can this year. For reasons of growth spurts, some of the shopping will have to wait until a closer time but if that is all I have left, I am doing great!

Saturday was the big grocery store trip. Come to think of it.....that is all I left the house for besides church this weekend. It was just too hot to do much of anything. Sunday evening the kids wanted to kiddie pool out. Johnny, Drew and I got out our pitching wedges and did our best imitations of the pro golfers we had been watching.

All in all it was just a great family weekend.

The kids are looking forward to school! At least most of them are. Ben actually starts a week before we do. Ha! Ha! Big college man has to start school before his siblings......awww...poor baby! Of course, he gets out before we do for Christmas. He did get moved back in with my dad. I am soooo happy about that! The rest of the kids that are in school start on the 27th, which just happens to be my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! I'm kidding. I will really miss having them around. I am looking for a good preschool for Luke. Please keep me in your prayers on that one.

September marks the beginning of Flamingo season in our church. It is a fundraiser where we flock peoples yards with pink flamingos for a price. Once you are flocked, the removal fee of $5 is paid and you can flock whoever's yard you want to! The pastor has asked that we limit the number of times his yard can be flocked! Gee! I wonder why?

Our golden retriever is officially an inside dog right now. She will go outside with me to get the laundry off the line and if the kids are outside but then it is in the house for her! Lots of vacuuming at my house! I think the neighbors dogs are jealous. Especially since everytime Abby gets out she goes over to them. I really do think she is saying something akin to "HA HA I get to go inside and you don't!" I think this because they don't seem to want to talk to her......

We have this week and next week before school starts so I will probably finish up supply shopping today and clothes shopping this weekend. It feels good to actually be getting this stuff done before the night before. It has only taken me 5 years to get back to that.

Is it time for school yet?

I love the summer with my kids. Yesterday I came home from work around 1pm to find a hole in the girls' bedroom door. Seems the youngest was being kept out and decided to find a way in with the bathroom stool. Someday they will be gone and the house will have no more holes or broken windows......ahhh the dreams of the parent. Of course reality snaps back in and you realize that along with that neat house comes a very quiet house too. Yesterday afternoon we were dealing with the typical "there's nothing to do outside" and me saying "use your imagination" to which my youngest replied "I put mine in the closet and I'm not getting it back out!" He just turned 5. How do you argue with that! LOL!

I had youth last night and it was a very small crowd so we started trading stories about things that happen in our lives and my coffee habit came up......let's just say if I don't have a cup of coffee in my hand, you really don't want to talk to me yet. This is a well know fact at church camp. One of my campers the first year decided to get up with me (I get up an hour before them so I can have my coffee, wake up and get that all important alone time before kids). She very brightly said "Good Morning!" as i walked past her and muttered in a not so inviting voice something akin to "whatever". I was not aware that she had followed me out of the cabin as I was completely focused on the coffee I was promised would be ready at 6am. I got my cup and went out front to sit on the swing, drink my coffee, thank God for the beautiful day and just be alone and quiet when all of a sudden I became aware of this camper standing beside me. What was she doing? She appeared to be talking. I tried to non-chalantly glance around to see who she was talking to when I discovered it was me. My mind began to look back on the day before trying to decide what I had said or done that gave her the impression I wanted to speak to a teenager at 6am. Heck! I don't even really speak to my husband at that hour! And, yet there she was.... I started listening thinking maybe there was some great catastophe in her life that she was trying to overcome. To have disturbed my quiet coffee time it was going to have to be big.... much bigger than my boyfriend broke up with me or my mom doesn't like me. It was going to have to be something along the lines of I just found out I'm dying big. But as I began to listen I realized......this was just noise....mindless drivvle. I can only imagine the look on my face as my mind was still trying to comprehend WHY she was there. As the coffee began to soak into my brain and my brain began to function on a semi coherent level, I tried to explain to her that this was my time alone. She did not seem to be hearing what I was saying. So, I finally looked her in the eye and stated "you are interrupting my time with God". An uncertain look came over her face as she realized that I did not want her there at that particular moment. She took her leave and I realized what I had said. So, now, instead of pondering the days events I realized what I had done. And at church camp of all places. I had claimed I was spending time with God. Pretty sure he had been listening, I spent the next 20 minutes drinking my coffee and praying.......ALONE. :)

I did see the camper later that day and had a great conversation with her. She did not get up with me the rest of the week, though.

I started this about my kids and summer didnt' I? Well, after youth last night I got home and my husband asked me to get steaks for he and I. Like I am going to turn down a steak dinner. As I am heading to grocery store the kids are getting ready to sit down in front of the tv again. I yelled something as I walked out about shut it off and go outside not really thinking they would listen to me. I came home and there was nobody in the house. As I walked out the back door (I should mention it was now dark), I saw my husband mowing. (I will check how he did in a little while) . I walked out to our patio to see if he wanted the steaks inside or outside (we have a shop building where the grill is) when I saw my 6 and 8 yo doing something in the grass. The six year old (Jason) was doing pushups with the 8yo (Amanda) on his back. I should at this point say that Amanda is actually a pound lighter than Jason and just barely taller than him. Suddenly, I was passed by a streak of blue, it happened again and again when I realized my 5yo (Luke) was running laps around the patio. My 13yo (Drew) and 10yo (Sydney) were asking if they could go run in the neighborhood. As Luke went whizzing by for the 7th time or so I asked what everyone was doing. As he passed me on the next round he grinned and said they were all in training. I don't think I want to know for what but they were outside so I did not argue.

I cannot wait to see what today holds. This is one of my days off.

In case anyone just counted in that paragraph and only found 5 children, my oldest is living with my dad while he attends college. He is 18 and graduated in 2006. I will tell stories on him another day! :)

I am trying to figure out how to post pictures and as soon as I do I will put them up.


Off to the wonderful world of parenting!

Maggie

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I have never done this before so it is definitely a learning experience. I have no idea who will read this but here goes.....

I have always liked writing and this is a great outlet for me. With six kids there is always something going on here. Last night I learned the ins and outs of tape-ball (new use for duct tape) and also learned how patient a 13 year old boy can be with his siblings.

Someone once told me I should write a book so I sat down and came up with a title...."Yes, I am crazy and Yes, we know what caused it" Now I just have to come up with the pages to follow.

Besides my crazy crew, I am a youth director. My kids just weren't enough, I had to go and adopt everyone elses!

I look forward to writing here and seeing if and who reads it.

Maggie