There are days...

    There are days where I really feel as though I don't know what I am doing. More like which way I am going. Even though I started working at Emerson last year, it was November. The kids had the routine down. They knew their numbers, they knew their teacher, they knew the Make Your Day citizenship program that we had, they knew what was going on...even if I didn't.

This year? Totally on me. This year we still have 5 lunches, but the time from beginning of the first to the end of the last has been shortened by 25 minutes. That's alot of time to have squished together. I feel like I am on a rollercoaster. Especially with the 1st graders. Who no longer have 1st lunch. They have 3rd, so they can't come in early. We have over 110 1st graders. The majority of whom buy lunch, don't know their number and can't seem to figure out that Mrs. Roberts means zip your lip when she says that we come in silently! I actually had one escape out the side doors to recess today, before lunch was actually done.

I know that somehow we will get into a routine. At some point I will be able to breathe before the end of the day, but I am not holding my breath.

Great day

What a great day! My mom got to take the day off and we went to the Evergreen State Fair. She found that if we brought 3 cans of food per person you got in for free! Free! It was going to cost us $41! Free is so much better. Now that mom is working she wanted to pay for the boys to have all-day ride bracelets. They had a blast!
We ate scones, rode rides, walked and walked and walked. It was sunny. It was easy. It was fun. We haven't had many days like that. I forgot how much I miss having my mom to hang out in summer. She has been off work the last couple of years, and I am so excited for her that she now has a job, but... I miss having her to call up just to hang out.
So, we are packing up our summer clothes. We are putting away the swimming clothes and camping gear and getting ready for school. We have this last weekend to play and then life goes back to a schedule. But for now? We got to play today, we have a soccer tournament this weekend (for Konley), we have a birthday party with friends tomorrow night, and we are headed to the beach house Sunday and Monday.
What a wonderful way to finish up summer!

School

School starts next week and we have another new principal. It can't be worse than last year so I am excited/nervous. We got our schedules today and I am more nervous than anything. I am not so good at change but she did give all of us a book about change...something about "who moved my cheese?". I will let you know how it goes.

schedules

So, no one ever tells you how different life is with 3 kids. You have 2 hands, but 3 kids. We have 2 parents and 3 places to go. We seem to be one short lately on everything. I knew when they were little it would be difficult. Booster seats and strollers. Crossing the street and having to have everyone hold hands.
But it is so much harder now. How do I get 3 kids to soccer practice at 3 different fields, all within 15 minutes of each other?
Don't get me wrong...I LOVE all of my boys. I just don't know when I became a taxi driver instead of a mom.
I am kind of excited for school. Only in that it seems like we are better at schedules during the school year. Things aren't quite so all over the place. Though we will have 3 boys on 3 soccer teams in 3 different schools.  Guess I will be depending more and more on my color coded calendar!

Toyota

What a strange summer it has been!
1. The weather is crummy. I am actually wearing jeans and long sleeves today.
2. We went to eastern WA and it was only nice one day. But we weren't at home.  We were with friends. More friends this year than we have had at camp before.
3. We got to see the Sounders get trounced by Manchester United. Keegan was in true heaven. He got to see his favorite player in person. He got to watch Wayne Rooney score a hat trick live and in person. I got to watch my son grin for an hour without stopping. Grinning like a kid in a candy store.
4. Then the car debacle. We call it a car incident instead of a car accident. We weren't hit by anyone.  I didn't run into anything. It just happened. The side curtain airbags exploded. For no reason. Except that I think Toyota knew that they could possible explode. There is a glitch in the computer system. They have a recall. They just hadn't gotten to us yet. Hmmm. It's been a scary adventure. I am not sure that I want my car back. Even fixed. I can't imagine getting back into it. I am having enough trouble getting into the rental cars. I am driving like a little old lady. Cautious everywhere I go. Even though I didn't hit anything. Nothing hit me. Just a loud, scary (painful, for me) boom and eruption.
5. Between the game and the car exploding Jeff lost his cell phone. Just keeps getting better doesn't it? Then when he called our carrier they didn't have him listed as the primary! He has been the primary for nearly 10 years. I had to have his permission to make any changes or get my own phone!

Next Monday is a new month. It is the last full month of the summer and the month with 2 of my boys' birthdays. It is a chance to start over. It is a chance for a better month. My fingers are crossed. My hopes are high....now to just get through the last 5 days of this nutso, crazy, scary month.

cleaning

Two rooms down...one to go! and that last one? totally makes me afraid.

Jack's room...

totally gives me the shivers.

i can't even find the floor. i have piles of clothes that fit/don't fit/need to be stored from his big brothers.

toys

toys

toys

and stuff.

that kid collects more stuff.

I helped with Keegan and Konley's today. We could finish it all up in about 2 hours. 2 rooms in 2 hours and 4 bags of clothes to be given away and one to keep for jack. phew.

but then there's Jack's.....

he's going to have to wait till I am no longer scared to walk into it.

what to do? what to do?

So, now that school is done we are wondering what to do, what to do? Without sunshine it is kind of a bummer. We are planning birthdays and cleaning rooms. But we haven't really gotten so far as to clean rooms. Just planning birthdays.

We have an alternate plan this summer. We are giving the older boys a "birthday allowance". They are being given an allotted amount of money to plan their own party. They can spend it on a party or they can save it and have no party. But they are in charge. They have to figure out the prices, the invites, the everything. It's going to be great. I usually spend all summer planning parties. Since everyone gets a kid party and everyone gets a family dinner. That makes for 6, count 'em 6!, summer birthday parties. That's ALOT of cake making, party planning, present buying, and chaos corralling. I will still plan Jack's. Can't really expect my 6, nearly 7 year old, to plan his own party, but soon....very soon. He is writing his invite list as we speak.