As it is mid-May and summer is upon us.  My girls are revved up and ready to start the long summer days full of camps, swimming and a lot of nothing! The fact that they are growing up slaps me in the face almost everyday.

Ella bridged from being a Daisy Girl Scout to a Brownie Girl Scout.  She is extremely proud of this  and the fact that her first overnight camp will be this summer.

Meg went to sixth grade camp.  She climbed the Alpine tower and is planning on zip-lining this summer.  Adventure awaits her for sure.

Mita is furiously making plans for becoming a sixth grader that include playing soccer and the cello.  She will have to be at school at 7:30am next year, and while she thinks it is no big deal, I am dreading getting her up that early!

Enu, in Fourth grade, hit the jackpot for field trip years and has been busy running around the state visiting Amish Country (not a real country mind you), the high school FFA ( a different world) and has plans to visit the State House soon.  She is ready to rule the intermediate school next year in the fifth grade with NO other sisters to bug her.

Goodbye 2011-2012 school year. May we have a long, long summer full of fun times, empty afternoons reading in the shade and popsicles. Lots of popsicles.

   

Sunburned from camp!

 

If you have young children in elementary or pre-school most likely you know that the celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday was a couple of weeks ago.

Which means right about now your child’s backpack is full of the cutest art projects you have ever seen!  Projects that you don’t want to toss but cannot realistically keep on your fridge or in a scrapbook either.  Unless this is your first child.  Then you will keep everything for years until your basement or garage is full and realize that something has to hit the recycling bin or you have to buy a bigger home.

After having Meg fill 5+ bins I started to realize that with four kids, the bin thing wasn’t happening. So three years ago I started making school project photo books on Shutterfly (tons of other sites, but Shutterfly is my fav).  I take the pictures of the projects and save them for the next book. This makes it so much easier to toss the projects.  I don’t enjoy junking them, but it is a necessary evil of motherhood. I have also made thank you cards and notecards out of some of the projects.

So back to Dr. Seuss.  Elle came home with a few really cute things that I cannot throw away. Maybe it is because she is my baby and I’m realizing that this may be my last Dr. Seuss birthday bonanza, maybe it’s because I’m tired of taking out the recycling.  Who knows?  What I do know is that an idea popped into my head that I am happy with and thought I would share.

As a reading family there are some books that will never be donated or passed on. Dr. Seuss books are those sorts of books.  Elle has fallen hard for the rhyme master and has even read me Green Eggs and Ham backwards before (a realllllly loooonnnggg story btw!). So I merged the two and have not lost any space.

I simply added her art work to the insides of the books and now the books mean even more to me than before. I can imagine Elle’s kids opening the book and seeing mommy’s artwork from when she was a girl….ahhhh. Tears. Sniff. Sniff.

Awesome.

They better appreciate this stuff!

                         

 

 

(I see Angry Birds when I look at this!)

 

 

Watching the girls grow up is downright amazing.  I’ve said in the past that when they are small you are so exhausted and tired of saying “no”, of doing the diaper thing, the potty training thing, the sharing thing that you tend to not pay attention or appreciate fully the gains. You are just  happy to be through them.

As they get older and the achievements are more out of the hygiene realm, watching them grow, learn and become who they are meant to become is nothing less than miraculous.  I have found that every morning they come out of their rooms one step closer to adulthood and it makes me want a pause button in some ways and an applause button in other ways.

Where did Meg, long-legs Meg, get her confidence?  Both Hubby and I didn’t have great self-confidence growing up, yet she is strong, solid and humble in her self.  I’ve had teachers and other adults tell me how kind she is and how she isn’t a braggart in her accomplishments.

Mita. My dear Mita has blossomed into a young woman (seriously, have you seen her?!). She is quiet and works so hard. She is reading up a storm and is a straight A student. Straight A’s for a child who four years ago knew no English!   Her room is her castle and she loves to clean it and take pride in her appearance. The outfits she puts together dazzle and are stunning. How does she make sweats look glamorous?!  Her heart. Her heart has had more sorrow than many have had in a lifetime, and yet she is healing.  She gives me spontaneous hugs and I love yous. She calls me Mommy sometimes.  I love to just stare at her. She doesn’t like that so much though!

Enu. Enu is the child who is teaching me patience and perseverance.   She is growing by leaps and bound physically and emotionally.  She is finding herself slowly, but it is happening. She is great with young kids and as of right now she is helping me watch my niece. She will be a great babysitter in just a few years. Her smile is contagious, and she really is quite funny.  It will be great to watch her harness her energy in the years to come.

Elle.  Elle is my elfin fairy for sure.  She is now seven and  I look at what Meg was like at seven and they are so different yet alike.  Elle is becoming very funny, almost a dry sense of humor in some ways. Her comebacks make Hubby and I look at each other and smile. She can take care of herself  just fine in a pack of four sisters!  She still plays with toys, which makes me sooooo  happy.  For Christmas she got an iPod and a Lalaloopsy doll and she will walk around playing with both at the same time.  She still cuddles which makes me think she will always be a cuddler! Yeah!  My baby reads. My. Baby. Reads.

Watching my girls grow is truly a pure delight.  I am overwhelmed with how fast everything is going. Meg is talking about college (of course she has always talked about college, but now I picture it happening!).  Hubby and I find ourselves talking about a third car for the girls to share.

I know that talking about your kids growing up is a well-worn topic. I’ve heard for years how it goes by quickly.  It makes me ache that this is so true but at the same time I love, love, love watching them learn, grow and burst into the world.  If I have anything to do with how wonderful these children are it is my greatest honor in life.  My work is done, everything else is a bonus.

 

 

Pretzels From Space!

We celebrated Elle’s seventh birthday yesterday.  It is so amazing to think that seven years ago I was laying in room 207, the same room I delivered Meg,  and was listening to ocean waves.  It was such a nice, peaceful delivery.

Today, a school day, she awoke to a cinnamon roll in bed, a birthday T-shirt and cookies for her class.  We also had a family dinner complete with Light Saber hot dogs and Star Wars pretzels.  A Star Wars volcano and Yoda pie were gobbled up and then we all went and watched the birthday girl perform in her school Christmas play.

A busy day that was amazingly fun.  A couple of quotes from Elle:

“I don’t want this day to end.”

“I don’t have anything else I want now!”

She is amazing.

She is SEVEN!

 

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Hubby got down the Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving afternoon per our normal tradition.   The girls carried the boxes in from the garage and I opening up a lid on the first box. On top was an envelope that said “Time Capsule 2010″.  Hmmm. My hand writing. Wow what a great idea! I’m so glad I thought of that, and then forgot it?!

So once all the decorations were up (the kids did an awesome job by the way, it is great to have kids who are old enough to actually help with things!) we sat down and I read the letters.  They were simple questions like:

What was your favorite song in 2010?

What was your favorite movie in 2010?

What do you remember most about 2010:

What do you hope happens in 2011?

It turns out that none of the girls’ predictions came true, Elle doesn’t have long hair and Mita didn’t get to go to Washington State.  We did make it to Chuck E. Cheese as Elle had hoped for and Meg did get to perform more in 2011 between her choir and being in Children’s Letters to God.  Enu did not get to spend the night for a week at her friends house, but she did  start doing her hair better!

A nice moment for us. I think this year I will add a few more question and have Hubby and I do one to.  I am going to add this to our Advent activities (Oh yeah, haven’t started planning those yet either.)

I wonder if I will forget next year?  Maybe I should go back and see if I blogged about my idea?  Echinacea anyone?

 

(Elle with my nephew in their school costumes.)

 

The planning of Halloween is more fun for me than the actual Trick or Treating. I love planning with the girls, looking for the good deals and finding the perfect costume.

This year Meg was…well I don’t know what her costume was, but she was cute. Purple and black with a funky hat. Very twelvish! It was all about the candy for her.

Mita wanted to be a bumble bee. I was thrilled that she wanted to dress up. She has never really embraced Halloween and the two previous years she didn’t wear her costume at the last-minute. This year she wore her costume, but put on a sweatshirt the whole time so I never saw the whole suit and of course she didn’t let me take a picture :(

Enu wore the same costume as she did last year, Tiana. She looked beautiful, but this year is definitely the last year for that costume! It was snug to say the least.  On our second round of Trick or Treating she went as a golfer.  Girls change their minds a lot it seems.

Enu as a golfer

  My baby is almost seven. This year for Halloween she dressed up as Rapunzel. She loved dressing up and her outfit was completed by a Gecko and a frying pan as well as a smaller Gecko and small frying plan. If you have seen Tangled, you will  understand the frying pan thing.  She is still excited about the costume.  How many years will I have left with her excitement? How long will it take for her to say M &M’s correctly?

Ella as Rapunzel

As I write this the girls are trading their loot. Heavy negotiations going on. It brings back memories of my brother Josh and I when we were little.  The fun part was trading and pulling one over on him!   Of course in about a week I will combine all of the candy into one pile to save space, but they seem to have forgotten that fact right now.

I wonder about next year. Will I have only two costumes to plan for?  I guess there is always the grandchildren in 20 years!

 

 

All-aboard the Dinosaur Train! PBS’ hit show has a new Halloween Book out that I get to review.  Anyone who reads my blog knows that I like to read, like to get kids to read and love having the opportunity to share my reads with everyone.

For those of you with older kids who may not have heard of Dinosaur Train, well, it’s big.  I would call it the Rollie-Poli-Olie of today. Meg was a big Rollie fan (a decade ago EEEK!).  In this animated cartoon a family of dinosaurs ride a train each episode to a new place in time.  The Jim Henson Company is the creator of the series, so you know that it is full of fun, color and learning.

In The Spooky Scavenger Hunt  (Published by Grosset & Dunlap), the conductor takes the kids (all dinosaurs) on a scavenger hunt and they learn to use their senses of sight, hearing, smell as well as touching on nocturnal animals.  The pages are colorful, though not to bright – the darkness helps with the spooky theme.  Of course the book is not to spooky to read to the little ones and is aimed at ages 4-8.

Elle (my 6.5 year old) enjoyed reading the book along with me. She does watch the show when her older sissies surrender the TV!  We will be reading the book the next few weeks before Halloween and then passing it on to the nephews I’m sure.  That’s what I love about books: They last for a long time and are never out of date for the most part!

Elle and Friend

Also coming up on PBS:  Sid the Science Kid – Spooky Science Special on October 17, 25, 30 and 31st

Dinosaur Train: Haunted roundhouse/Big Pond Pumpkin Patch on October 20, 24, 30 and 31st.

Here are links to patterns for Dinosaur Train or a Sid Halloween costumes!

Okay, giveaway details!  A copy of The Spooky Scavenger Hunt will be sent to you if you are the winner (US addresses only please.) .

Mandatory Entry:  Leave a comment to the following question:  Do you think that dinosaurs trick or treated? Explain your answer….seriously, just leave me a comment!

Extra Entries:

Follow PBS Kids on Twitter and leave me a comment that you did so with your Twitter handle.

Like PBS Kids on Facebook and leave me a comment that you did so.

Like FourAgainstTwo on Facebook and leave a comment that you did so.

The winner will be drawn via Random.org on October 19th at noon. I cannot guarantee that you will get it by Halloween, but there is a good chance!

 

 

(Disclosure:  I received a free copy  of above mentioned book ($3.99 US) from Three Sixty Marketing and Communications and the opportunity to give one copy away.  I was given no other compensation and my thoughts are my own.)

 

The four in FourAgainstTwo stands for four girls. The only boy in our family, save our three dwarf hamsters is my Hubby and to show respect he is a Man not a boy.

I have often said that God knew what He was doing when he gave me girls. Boys scare me a bit. I’m not sure how I would have parented one, or more than one. I know that I would have learned on the job of course, but I still believe that with my anxiety that girls fit me better.  I am amazed when I watch my nephews or my friends’ boys play.  They play so different than girls.  More movement, less talking, less drama and a lot more rough play!  My one regret with not having a boy is not being able to have some really cool birthday parties. I would have loved to have had a Pirate Birthday party with a treasure map activity.

My youngest Elle has allowed me to glimpse into the land of boys.  She is my Star Wars fan.  Thanks to her I can go into the boys section in search of Darth Vader shirts and R2D2 pajamas.  I also find twigs, dirt, rocks and bugs in her pants pockets when I do the laundry. She will wear the same undies for endless days as well as socks if I don’t watch her.  All of these things are things that I have heard are “boyish”.

Elle is also a pack-rat-slob. I feel bad about this attribute as she got it from me and I got it from my dad. It’s a family gene.  The other day I was gutting her room getting rid of the millions of items she has tucked away and I found this:

6 Pieces of gum...right beside the Disney fairy!

 

Chewed bubble gum. Saved for later.  Yucky, but funny. Very funny. Just don’t tell her I told her so.

 

 

 

 

A Sign We Hate To Read!

Last Saturday we drove to North Carolina to a beach house we rented with family.  Our car was full on luggage but short on children at Meg and Mita were staying behind to finish their play commitments and coming down Monday with my parents.  It was just Hubby and I with Enu and Elle.  The drive went fine. We had no traffic, decent weather and the car ran fine.

The last forty-five minutes the kids kept watching the GPS system. It has a little checkered flag at our destination address.  As they watched us get closer they started reading the signs at the side of the road.  I’m sure every one does this on long road trips.  There is nothing else new to do so we read signs.  Road signs, restaurant signs, bumper stickers and just about everything within site.  We then start passing large billboards that say things like:

 

I Got My Crabs At Dirty Dicks

and

Try My Nuts

Okay, so they are advertisements for a seafood place and a nut store, but please  oh please don’t let my kids start reading these signs and repeating them.  Elle already has a good idea  of other definitions for nuts and dicks and I just hope the other crab definition doesn’t pop up to soon!

It makes me want put in a new DVD and have the kids mesmerized by the screen just to keep them from reading!

What signs have you winced at said a prayer that the kids won’t pay attention?

 

Yesterday on our weekly trip to the library I found a fun new book that I thought Elle and I would enjoy.  It turns out that Enu is in love with it and *bonus* it is a great bonding tool.  The book is called You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very short stories to read together by Mary Ann Hoberman and illistrated by Michael Emberly.

Elle is an emergent reader, reading on her own a bit, but still needing help.  Reading with her can be fun or can be tedious depending on her level of stubborness at the time!  What is so great about this book is that we are reading short lines together, which keeps her (and me) from getting bored.  There are mostly rhymes which is great for new readers and writers and the book gets silly which means fun!  Fun while reading is so important when they are young. We can’t make it a chore.

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the reasons for homeschooling Enu was to give her some one on one time that she missed when she was little.  This book offers a fun and easy way to spend that precious time with her. She missed the fairy tales and rhyming books. She missed the silly reading stories.  She adores this book. We have reserved the other titles in the series:  Very Short Fairy Tales and Very Short Mother Goose Tales and I am hoping to get them in time for vacation.

I get happy when I find something with multi-uses and this book fits the bill. I encourage all parents of emergent readers or parents of older-adopted children to check this book out at your library and give it a try.

Have you read this book with your kids? Is reading time bonding time for you all as well?

 

(Disclosure: I recieved no compenstation for reviewing this book, nor was I asked to review it. I borrowed my copy from the library. Amazon links are not affiliate links and I will not get any money from them.)

 

 

Art Credit

 

 I am having a hard time with the title of this post.  Forgive me. I’ve been eating chocolate.  I’ve actually had chocolate all over my arms and hands…a wonderful thing for the most part!

We received a sweet delivery a couple of weeks ago to our house. The folks over at ImagineToys.com send us a Candy Factory: The Science of Sweets to test out and review! It arrived on a day I was down with a serious infection and now that my antibiotics are done and my energy is almost back (joking, moms know that the energy never. comes. back. ever.) I’ve finally let the kids get it out and have a go with it.  Needless to say they have been quit antsy to check it out.

It is marked for ages 10 and up and I believe that is a good age for this edible scientific project. I did have my younger girls make chocolate tonight though since the other two are in the final days of play practice and their time is full of practice and homeworkright now. My plan is to have them do a more involved recipe and  I will let you guys know what they made and how it turned out. 

My younger two  (ages 6 and 9) made chocolate Santa Clauses and Chocolate lady bugs.  Delicious, fun and EASY! I did show them how to put together a double-boiler and monitored them pretty close with the hot water, but everything else could easily be done by them since this was a simple recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

I am very impressed with this kit. It has quality tools, a great “Experiment” book full of not only recipes for several types of candy, but the history of sugar, cocoa and a section on the biology of taste.  If you are a homeschooler or  just have kids who like to learn about things they don’t get at school this kit is great. 

 Remember that it comes with a lot of things (molds, sticks, wrappers, cutters, candy thermometer and much more.  If you buy this and want to get started creating candy immediately be sure to have chocolate, corn syrup and condensed milk on hand at the very least!

I’m hoping to try the peppermint patties and Meg wants to make a Christmas Nerds-filled chocolate egg for Christmas gifts. I’ll update you on our progress.

The price at $45.95. At first glance I may have baulked a bit, but after seeing what all it comes with and knowing the quality it is I think that price is worth it and would consider this a good birthday or Christmas gift. 

 

 

(Disclaimer: I received the above mentioned Candy Factory for free  by Imagine Toys.com for my honest review and opinion.  No other compensation was given. )

 

Love the fake smile here!

 

She's fast I tell you!

 

Really fast...

 

Dunking by Thursday, I just know it!

 

I cannot remember when Meg hit what I call the age of understanding. A time when a child starts paying more attention to her surroundings, starts to digest conversations she overhears.  I think one reason I didn’t notice when Meg came into this is because she was the oldest. We expected more from her. She had to be smart, polite, brave… I wish I hadn’t had such high expectations of her, not because she couldn’t do these things but because of the pressure we put on her.   This is what we tend to do with our firsts.  Mita and Enu came to us at ages six and eight so we did not have the opportunity to watch them reach this milestone.

Elle, however, is the baby.  Her growth and maturity always catches me by surprise.  I’m not ready for her to grow up. I know she will, but I treasure her youth and try to hang on to it.

The other day we were sitting outside on our porch, just Elle and I. I was reading her a Magic Treehouse book.  She is really serious when she asked,”Mom, can I ask you something?”  She then goes on to ask about a conversation she overheard between Hubby and I a couple of days earlier.  She is confused and asking me to clarify.  She was so grown up, so articulate.  My heart was full of pride and sadness.

Then on Easter morning we were watching the news. They were showing a reporter trying to find an Easter Service in China.  The Chinese had guards at a popular church site and were turning people away.  The reporter told a police officer “Happy Easter” to see what the response would be.  Meg happened to walk in and say Happy Easter about that time. I murmured not in China and Elle says yeah, they are having a crack down. Hubby and I looked at each-other with surprise.  She is watching and understanding the news?

The age of understanding isn’t always convenient for parents, we have to watch our conversions a little more closely now around her.  It seems Hubby and I can only talk like big people after 9pm now!

I took this over Easter weekend. I think it is the best shot I have ever personally taken of my littlest girl.

 

Does she have to grow up?

 

Photo Credit Mandy W. 2011

 

 

 

 

 

Last Saturday I took Enu, Elle, my niece and my mom to a SweetHeart Tea. It was at our local Art museum.  We had a great time.  The museum has a massive Madame Alexander Doll collection, so the girls were asked to bring their dolls to tea with them.  There was a speaker giving the history of Madam Alexander. She was very informative and my mom and I enjoyed her talk.  The kids, however, came away with a really comical, slightly crazy history of Madam Alexander. On the way home I was asking the girl questions about the tea and the talk to try and make them actually learn somethings (yes, I am that mom!).  I gave up and am just happy that they had a good time!

The tea part of the SweetHeart Tea was a great time of learning manners and trying new things. Not every kid has had the opportunity to try a cucumber sandwich or hot tea for that matter.  We are a hot chocolate world it seems. The food was delicious and the manners taught re-affirmmed what I have tried to teach them.  I held my tongue  and did not say “See, I told you your napkin goes on your lap.”

My girls’ dolls were barely dressed (I told them they could not take naked dolls with them) but they were dressed!  Elle did her own hair (as usual). They were all clean though and there was only one meltdown in our getting ready to go.

A great day for all, especially since I got to tour the new museum displays and the kids had fun with art. Yeah!  One of the exhibits was named “Adam and Eve”.  This piece features two people make from sticks and  Adam’s penis was an actual  “woody”.  Out of the entire museum this was the most fascinating item it seems.  I think I am a pretty Matter-of-Fact mom, but I did gently move them away from this piece after awhile, as there is more to art than the birds and the bees.

To top off the day Enu won the raffle! She got a collectors Madame Alexander Doll.  It is an 8 inch doll from India, and let’s just say it is no longer in collector condition.  She was so happy that she won and her  response was, “I knew I was going to win.”

 

A very nice Valentine’s Day treat for me my mom and our “little girls” of the family!

 

 

 

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I went to Elle’s class yesterday and read a few books. The kids treated me like a Rock Star.  They mobbed me and were so happy I was there.  I offered to sing and dance but Elle had her own thoughts about that! 

I would like to  go to the girls’ classes and read at least once a year, however,  Elle is my only daughter who actually wants me in the classroom at this point, so I run with it and enjoy it while it lasts!

I asked a lot of  questions of the kids and the nice round circle on the floor ended up being pile of kids telling me stories of hitting deer with cars and brothers who are weird. At the end I gave them each a sticker I had made on Etsy.  In the spirit of Star Wars’ Yoda it said.”Read You Will.”  They wore the stickers and put them on folders. One six year old told me that he was going to name his band “Read You Will”! I hope  I get free tickets to his gigs…

Anyway, here are my suggestions when reading to your young child’s class:

1) Have at least three books. Time flies when you are the star of the show.

2) Ask your child to pick out at least one of the books so you know you have one hit (for me, Star Wars was the hit)

3) Go for the illustrations and make sure every child can see the pictures before turning the page.

4) Be comfortable. I love sitting on the floor so that is how I tend to read to classes. Reading from a stool, however, can help keep the kids in line as you seem the authority figure and it also helps all the kids to see the pictures.

5) If you ask them questions about the book be prepared to listen to the answersand to cut off some of the very long stories. “Let’s talk about that after the book.” usually works and they forget most of the time what they were going to say!  If  you don’t want to be interrupted don’t ask questions. I love to ask them things like,               ” What is the spider doing on this page?” or ” Have you ever seen a frozen water fall?”  It gets them engaged into the story and the art.

6) I always start out by reading the title, author and illustrator. I like giving credit where credit is due and it also helps children learn the dynamics of books. 

7) To be super popular, let the kids vote on what order of books you are going to read.

8) Don’t be afraid to pick a book that they would not pick themselves. I love picking out one that has rich words, descriptions and artwork in it. Winter Waits(see below) was my favorite choice and the kids were so quiet when I read it. They commented on the illustrations and were soothed.

I read the following books:

Star Wars: Heros

Not much to say about this book other than it will thrill all Star Wars fans as it has colorful pictures and is a hardy board-book!

Winter Waitsby Lynn Plourde, illustrated by Greg Couch

This book is apart of a series featuring every season, Wild Child, Spring’s Sprung and Summer’s Vacation. All of the books have the most amazing artwork and the words are golden. I just love reading lines like the following out-loud:

 “He snizzes and snips lacy designs. Sprools and sprinkles them on meadows and pines.”

 

Each Living Thing by Joanne Ryder, illustrated by Ashley Wolff

This book has great pictures of all types of animals and emphasises that we need to watch out for animals and not mess with them. This led to a discussion on appreciating nature without disturbing it.

Claire and the Unicorn Happy Ever Afterby Susan Mitchell, illustrated by B.G. Hennessy

I accidentally left this book at home and did not read it to the class.  Elle and I have read it and feel it deserves a shout out because it is so fun and incorporates several fairy tales into a modern day practical thought. And it is Unicorn, sorry about the bad picture!

 I encourage you to try reading to your kids, even if you are comfortable with reading aloud. Practice helps a lot and your kids don’t expect you to have the oratory power of James Earl Jones. Although that would be awesome to read Star Wars with his voice!

What books do you like reading aloud from?

 

 

Here is the proof of the stickers I brought for the kids:

 Disclosure: All the pictures above I took of the books that I have in our home library or from our public library except for Star Wars. That picture is linked to Scholastic books, one of my favorite places to shop. I received no compensation for these reviews and was not asked to review them.

 

 I just had to share this picture from the party on Sunday.

Princess Leia and my Elle.  Dreams do come true!

.

 

December birthdays get a bad rap.  As of now, Elle doesn’t mind having a birthday ten days before Christmas. She thinks it is neat having so many presents in the same month! I dread the day when she is told that she should feel bad about her birthday being in December. In the back of my mind I think that if it becomes an issue we could celebrate her half birthday, but really I hope it doesn’t come to that. I hope she embraces her birthday and continues to love the date.

This year her actual birthday fell on a Wednesday and we had the grandparents over for Pizza, Yoda Pie and gifts. She scored on the Star Wars gifts for sure! She got a Star Wars DS holder with light saber stylists, a Star Wars Comforter and the Star Wars version of Trouble as well as a Tinker Belle DS game. 

Her skating party is this weekend and promises to be an event in itself. Princess Leia is coming to sign autographs and pose for pictures :) I wish I was six again!

Yoda Pie Rocks

Crazed Birthday Girl!

Princess Leia is the Best!

 

Elle’s party is days away.  Any mom who has arranged a birthday party knows how stressful getting everything just right can be.  This is the first (and probably only for  long while) big birthday party we have ever done for Elle.  Her whole class and Daisy Scout Troop are invited on top of our family and extended family.

She is so excited. She choose a skating party, which should be interesting because she and most of her friends have never been roller skating before! My plans are to have the skate guy tighten the wheels so we will have a bunch of little kids walking around in skates.

The theme is of course, Star Wars.  I got a sweet deal at Birthday In a Box through a Zulily voucher last month and we have decorations galore.  Hallmark sent me a free product code in thanks of meeting them at BlogHer10 over the summer and I got the most awesome birthday plates ever!  Look at these babies:

You are jealous aren’t you?  Hallmark has several varieties including holiday themes.  They also gave me a coupon code to share with you guys.  Here is for 30% off at Hallmark.com:  Blogher30 Enjoy and tell me what you bought!

The invitations I found at i Celebration on Etsy.

I went with #2 because it has Princess Leia on it and was pleased that  she also made free Thank You cards.  I printed my prints at Wal-Mart and cut them into really cute book marks. The kids love them, as does Elle and I think they are the cutest invites I’ve ever done.  Of course I didn’t do them, but  I did make the decision to buy and that is what counts!

Rumor is that Princess Leia will make an appearance and no, she will not be wearing the slave outfit.  She will be in a white robe with her hair all bunned-up!  Yeah for my babysitter being such a good sport:)

I will be sure to show you pics from the upcoming event party and you will see my Elle at age SIX!  How did my baby get to be six years old. This is nuts, crazy and amazingly awesome at the same time.

(Disclosure: My Zulily link is an affiliate link and Hallmark gave me $40 credit in merchandise after visiting their booth at BlogHer10 this past summer. )

 

Finally a person! Random.org has been deciding on my order of thanks and I was beginning to think I was not supposed to write about my family!

#13 Elle

Elle is my joy. She is the baby of my four girls. She is the one who still likes it when I blow kisses at her when she is boarding the bus.  She smiles and climbs up in my lap to snuggle.  I am so thankful for this little girl who can drive me crazy over not wanting to get in her car seat or wear shoes or socks.  This little girl who can try on six pairs of underwear before finding the one that fits just right (every morning!)  can be so exasperating and yet elfin cute.

This past year has been a big one for Miss Elle. She lost her first tooth, learned to ride her bike without training wheels and started school.  She has finally started to gain weight and is growing very tall.

I am so thankful for this amazing being that is my daughter.

 

I can remember getting together with the neighborhood kids when I was around seventh grade and all of us writing and practicing a play.  Our play was not totally an original. We were doing an episode of Family Ties.  I think I was Mallory, but I’m not sure anymore. Anyway, we were ignoring that fact that this show was a sit-come and we made it more a drama-tragedy. 

Our plot was that the father, whats his name, was on a airplane about to crash and we were acting out his last thoughts of his family.  Now that I think about this, it’s funny  how morbid we were!  We never acted out the play, but had a lot of fun for a few days messing around with it.  That was the extend of my theater experiences, except for taking Drama I as a freshman in high school and I don’t want to remember that.

My daughters are much more into the acting mode. Meg has two plays under her belt with our local theater and is currently in a Children’s Choir with Mita.  The four of them together always equals drama so I wasn’t surprised when the plays started in our house.  They are fun, and goofy and at times all they are is a bunch of giggles. But I have noticed that some never make the “stage”.  Here is a skit that I just loved that never came to be performed for Hubby and I, due to extensive cast changes (the neighbor kids joined and confusion ensued to the point where they would rather play on the trampoline!) but I wanted to share it with the world.

I have kept in the typos and only changed the names to protect the innocent!

The Story of a Nightmare

 

Scene one

(Elle in bed with a teddy bear)

Mita: Juile did you brush your teeth?

Elle: yes

Mita: Did you set your clothe for tomorrow?

Elle: Yes

Mita: I will tuck you in before I go to bed.

Meg and mita: dreaming x 4.

Scene Two

(Elle wakes up)

Elle: Mommy where are you?

(Silents)

LOUD NOISE

( Enu comes in)

Elle: screams and runs out the door.

Enu chases her on and on.

Scene Three

Elle and Enu run in.

Elle: screams

(Green Frog and Pink bird run in to see what’s the matter.)

Meg: Run Juile while I distract him

Mita: follow me

Scene four

Elle: where where are we?

Mita: are in the Basement where no stuffed animal is brave enough to get us.

Only the Green frog and me have ever gone down here before

This is our hide out from the brown bear and other bad stuffed animals.

 Enu: I will get you someday and eat you all like stuffing

                                                                 And chicken.

 Scene five

Elle: are you ok?

Meg: I am fine. I should be asking you are ok?

Elle: yeah I am fine thanks you guys I wouldn’t live if it wasn’t for you.

Mita: ohh it was nothing in fact it is our job.

Meg: Yes it is we are soposed to tell kids that they are just bad dreams and you can control them if something horrible is going to happen.

I have to say that the spelling of the word “Silents” and the quote “I will get you someday and eat you all like stuffing And chicken.” need to be copyrighted! And what does dreaming x 4 mean?

Photo Credit

 

Meg won Honorable Mention for the 5th grade.

This was Elle's first year for Chalk on the walk.

Tes kissed up to the judges with saying school was cool!

Enu drew a farm and loved bringing home a new bucket of chalk!

For more Wordless Wednesdays check out this link.

 
Yes, she is wearing tights in August!

Here it is. Elle’s first day of school. The day she has been waiting for, the day I’m not sure how to feel.  Of course I’m a bit sad and melancholy, what mom isn’t at this time.

Being an experienced mom I have dealt with this first day of school thing before.  I know I will survive it. I know that watching your child grow, learn and experience the world is very satisfying. I also know that once you let your kiddo out of your home base bubble there is a large pool of influence that your child has to wade through and  you can only hope you are parenting well enough for your child to see you and your values through all the waves.

With baby number four out of the nest I must say I am less anxious than I was with number one, two and three. Elle is a smart cookie. She is fun, friendly and compassionate. She will do well.

Now what will I do?

For the past year I have looked to this moment as the moment I can go back to work. Not full time, not even part time, just some time in the workforce working with moms and babies with breastfeeding.

With the test results of my Lactation certification still pending I am looking forward completing a few projects at home.  I have not worked on my 2010 photo book at all. Now that I think about it I never made one for 2009 or our trip to Disney we took last New Years.  Maybe I will work on those a bit over the next few weeks.  I am also behind on dental appointments and other check up things as well (it is amazing how I strive to keep the kids up to date, yet fall behind myself ).

Of course the house needs a deep cleaning and  I won’t have Elle to come behind me helping me with baby wipes as she normally does.  The baby wipes that put streaks all over my clean surfaces.  That memory gives me a happy-sad feeling.

Maybe happy-sad is a good word for how I am feeling today. Happy for Elle, happy that I may have more time.  Sad that Elle has begun her school career and sad that I don’t have her around as much.

Meg wrote out a schedule of who will stay on the bus longer to help Elle get home. She then made the other two write the schedule down in their agendas.  Very sweet and big sistery.

Tell me how you felt the day your youngest started school or how you think you may feel on the day that happens. Sarcasm is welcome as well as tearjerker stories!

(Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!)

 

 

(P.S. She beat me :))

Photo Credit:  Mandy W. 2010

 
Elle of course

For More Wordless Wednesday check this out!

Photo Credit Mandy W.  2010

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