Tuesday, December 29, 2009

We're Getting a Puppy!!!!

For real this time. I am so confident and sure this time that I spilled the beans and told the girls. We went shopping today and picked out a little bed, some toys and her own food dishes. We'll pick up her food soon when we go to the co-op across town.

Saturday morning, December 26th, I answered the phone. It was my sister calling from down south. She and her husband were out and found two small puppies abandoned in a bathroom trashcan. She bundled them up and took them home to warm up. She called and sent pictures. And we're taking one (she's keeping the other). Now we wait until next week when she drives up for a visit.

To everyone who expressed their condolences last time when we thought for sure we had a puppy, those who said "there is a puppy out there for you". Thank you. This was just another thing that proves that everything happens for a reason. Because that puppy, was not meant to be ours. But this puppy, this puppy that someone heartlessly left in a cold bathroom trashcan... This puppy needs our love. Needs us to give it a loving home. And loving home it shall receive.

Now onto the hard part, picking out a name.

Thank you Auntie for thinking of us and for being in the right place at the right time. The girls have lots of love and are looking forward to meeting their new friend.

Friday, December 25, 2009

The very best gift of all


8 Years ago, Einey gave me the very best Christmas gift ever, the gift of motherhood.

It doesn't seem possible that it was 8 years ago that I held my eldest, as a swaddled newborn in my arms. Now she's a beautiful, smart little girl. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.

Thank you, Einey for the gift of motherhood.

Happy Birthday to you. May your love continue to shine!

Other birthday editions:

Seven

Six

Five

Birth Story

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Thanks S. again for your help with our Christmas cards!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Randomness

Having six eight year olds over for a sleepover was so nice and refreshing. So why is it, that with double the amount of kids running around playing hide and seek, it was quieter then having just my three home? OMG, the bickering lately!

Just how many bubbles are in a years supply of bubble bath?

Why doesn't it feel like Christmas this year?

Why are frisbees being thrown in my house?

Does anyone else constantly need to replace the "little" Nintendo items? You know, like Wii wrist straps (because a certain child who will remain nameless cut them with scissors)? And DS styluses, because certain other kids eat them? Seriously, I have replaced so many of them because apparently I don't feed my kids. I am constantly finding them all chewed up. Oddly, she doesn't chew on pencils or other objects.

And did I forget anyone on my card list? or to buy xmas presents for? Because as I'm writing this, I just remembered the gift that was supposed to be sent to my friend in VA. The gift that should have been in the box that was mailed out today.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Lend a helping hand....

Husband asked Meenie if she could go down into the basement to ge thim a can of soda. Then has asked Moe to go with her (knowing that they all hate going into the basement themselves).

Moe turned to husband and said "babies need some one to go with them. Meenie IS NOT a baby."

Man, between the eye rolling, the shrugs and the "duh's", "whatevers" and "sooooo" that come from her.... I'd swear she was 16, not 5.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Anatomy of a Snow Day

6:00 am Wake up and find out there's no school. Checked online, which they switched this year and was a pain to navigate. Cable is out.

6:20 am Kids wake up

6:50 am Kids ask if we can go outside

7:00 am - 9:30 am Lounged around, watched DVD's ate poptarts. I shoveled the driveway so the mechanic could come get the van for service (nothing like waiting until the snow falls to replace the brakes!).

9:30 am Finished watching Merry Madagascar for the fifth time this morning.

9:45 am got dressed and went outside. Sled down the neighbors hill and made 2 snowmen. Which is 2 more then last year. And the year before.





11:00 am Came in and made hot cocoa. After I cleaned up the water that spilled every where while we were outside. I think I may spoil them with the hot cocoa I make :D (photo reused from last year)

After that, times get fuzzy.

We finished a craft. Ate lunch. Watched some more DVD's. Played some games. Made chocolate chip cookies. Made creepy crawly bug things. Started some laundry.


Overall, it was a great relaxing day. One kid was a tad whiny, but they woke up early. I found ignoring her stopped her quicker then arguing with her. Because you know, me laughing when she told me she doesn'y like her build-a-bears staring at her didn't help. Of course, by the end of they day, they were kind of wound and bouncing off the walls.

This morning was back to school as usual.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Honesty.....

The number one reason Einey should not be allowed to sell GS cookies....

"Mom, we got to try the new GS cookie and it tastes like barf".

Um, you might not want to tell your customers that.

"I know. Mrs. C said we should say it's an adult taste".

Monday, November 30, 2009

I am thankful for...

Everyday for the month (starting on 11/9), my FB status reflected what I am thankful for.

Today I am thankful for......my husband. He is truly wonderful.


Today I am thankful for Einey - the child who made me a mother. She paved the way for who I am today. She is smart and beautiful and a wonderful child.

Today I am thankful for all of the men and women who have served our country. Thank you for all the freedom you have given us.
(in honor of Veteran's Day).

Today I am thankful for Meenie. Through her eyes, I have seen a whole new world. Her smile and laughter brings happiness to me always.


Today I am thankful for Moe. To see the excitement through her eyes every morning. My little imp, she's kept me on my toes and always moving from one spot to another. Yet she's the first to slow down and offer a kiss, a hug and a snuggle. My not so little baby.


Today I am thankful for my family. As crazy as they can be (and honestly, who's can't be???), they are my family and I still love them.


Today I am NOT thankful for the person who shared the vomit monster with us.

Today I am thankful for my friends. I appreciate every little thing you do and count myself lucky to know that I have friends like you I can count on!


Today I am thankful for my husband having a great job. I never expected to be able to stay home with my kids, these last eight years have been great. Thanks so much!

Today I am thankful for good health.

Today I am thankful for neighbors who will let you borrow ketchup when you realize your out :)

Today I am thankful for days off with Husband. Sometimes, we just need a little bit of quiet time. For once, we can actually finish a sentence. Oh and before I forget, because I didn't post this the other day - HALLILUJA! His hell schedule is over! Back to actually being able to see him! (which may or may not be good, he's already super stressed out and we have 19 months to go...)

Today I
am thankful for waking each morning.

Today I am thankful for the pen that did not explode despite going through the washer and dryer.

Today I am thankful for my children's education.

Today I am thankful for being able to love someone and to be loved back.

And as you can see, I didn't make it through the month.

Monday, November 23, 2009

On mice and little girls

Friday afternoon, the girls auditioned for their first ever play at our local community center - Cinderella. They were very excited and nervous. We've never done anything like this. We arrived for the audition, filled out their paperwork stating who they were and what they were auditioning for and they took each child in one at a time and asked them to sing their favorite songs. My husband went in with them. Einey choose to sing "America the Beautiful". She wanted to sing "Teardrops on my Guitar", but stumbled over some of the words. Meenie and Moe both sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". According to my Husband, they rocked their auditions. Even Meenie who tends to want to do something and then gets cold feet. Usually she'll start of strong and quickly start mumbling while looking at the floor. They all wanted to be royal guests.

Knowing that 100 kids auditions, we told the girls they make not make it in. That one, two or all may make it or not. We explained that it's okay if they didn't make it and that they could try again next time if they wanted to. But above all, we were very, very proud of them for trying.

Sunday afternoon, we got the call. All three girls made it in. Einey and Meenie were cast as Royal Guests/Townspeople. Moe was cast as a mouse. I thanked the director and told the girls. The older two jumped up and down. Moe burst into tears.

"But I don't want to be a mouse". We talked a bit. I told her that mice have very important roles. They help Cinderella get ready for the ball. Her sisters informed her the the mouse was the best part. And she may even get turned into a horse. This induced another round of tears. "I don't want to turn into a horse". We talked some more and she went off to grab a doughnut. I could hear the girls talking in the kitchen. Einey and Meenie were trying to pump her up, saying how the mouse is the best part, and they wished they were the mouse and how she probably didn't want to be a royal guest anyway. I was so proud of how they were trying so hard to cheer her up.

In the end, she decided she'll be a mouse after all.


*************************************

New England Mama's is back in action. The blog is a compilation of stories written by mothers who write about life as they live it in New England. Revamped with a new look and new writers, they are happy to announce that starting today, you can expect new stories every day. My first story will be up sometime this morning. I wrote about ..... well, you'll just have to click over to see :)

Sunday, November 22, 2009

20 Questions

Husband taught the girls how to play 20 questions. So now when we're in the car, they deviate from their normal ABC game and Simon Says to play 20 questions.

Taking a 15 minute ride down the road today illicited this game.

Me: I'm thinking of something...
Husband: Is it Alive?
Me: Yes
Meenie: Is it an animal?
Me: No
Einey: Is it a plant.
Me: No.
Husband interjecting - how can that be?
Me: It's a person.
Husband: A person is an animal.
Me: Whatever.
Husband: Mom's cheating already.
Moe: Is it a poop factory?
Everyone - laugh, no it's not a poop factory.
Husband: Do we see this person every day?
Me: No
Meenie: Is it a dentist?
Me: No.
Einey: Is it a doctor?
Me: No
Moe: Oh, oh, I know! Is it a poop factory worker?
Me: No.
Meenie: IS it a building?
Me: um, no, we already established that it was a person.
Husband: Is it real?
Me: Yes
Einey: Is it a nuclear power plant worker?
Me: No.

The answer was in fact, Santa Claus.

Yet, then, 20 minutes later, he started to argue when I tried to guess Einey's person when I asked if it was an elf when she said it was a real person. Elves aren't real. I shot back with "well you didn't argue with Santa being real". He shut up then. Einey's answer was, a nuclear power plant worker.

No one guessed poop factory when it was husband's turn and that was the actual answer.

Also, I may or may not have shot coffee out of my nose when Moe answered something later. She did however, win that game with a correct guess of coffee.

And for the record, 20 questions is more like 40 questions, because inevitably one of them will start guessing a type of plant or man-made object while after the fact of it being an animal is established. And I totally screwed everyone up with the whole a person isn't an animal thing when in fact yes, they are. And I repeatedly got scolded on that.

The moral of this story is, if you teach a kid a new game, you'll never hear the end of it. Also, make sure mom knows the rules as not to un-teach the kids how to play.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

In my world

In my world,

Time has no value. Standing in my dining room at 1:20 pm, if you look around, it's either 11:20 or 4:15. Always 4:15. The clocks work. They tick. They tock. But it's always 4:15. Just ask our friends.

Girls can play soccer in skirts.

Dinosaurs wear dresses and fairy wings.

Skirts get worn layered with jeans and pink cowboy boots. Worn with a tee shirt and accented by a blue spider man umbrella. In the sunshine.

Cakes can be for breakfast. And pancakes for dinner.

We wake when we want, never with an alarm.

Kids listen to rock.

We watch Christmas movies in August.

Kids camp out in bedrooms, sleeping on floors.

There are messes and clutter. But also laughter and giggles.

Welcome to my world, it's a great place to live.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Christmas Conundrum

This year, Meenie happily announced that she would like and American Girl Doll for Christmas. And since she asked for it last year and Santa didn't bring it, that he HAS to bring it this year. She is happy in her belief that she is, in fact getting this overpriced doll. Moe decided that Meenie's getting a American Girl, then she wants one too. Today, Einey , who has never played with dools, announced the she want a Kit doll. It probably has something to do with the fact that despite steering very clear of their store, they still flood my mailbox with catalogs. And the girls get the mail. Meenie and Moe tend to take turns sleeping with the catalog when they come in.

Today I said, well Santa might not bring them, they are very, very expensive. Einey replied "but I thought Santa MADE all the toys. It shouldn't cost anything". Shit.

Then I tried to remind them that they don't even LIKE to play with dolls. The in turn, proceeded to pick out accessories.

So, do I tell them Santa doesn't exist and thus they're not getting an American Girl Doll? Break their hearts by not having Santa bring them a doll? Or shell out the $100 per doll for three? And if we do get them the darn dolls, how do we explain that Santa brought the dolls, but not much else?

We don't want to break their disbelief just yet. So, what would you do?

Friday, November 13, 2009

Spoke to soon

Alas, the puppy we so wanted, that I fell in love with at first sight, that my daughter's dreamed of holding and sleeping by and dressing up and loving, is not to be ours. A puppy we all fell in love with over a picture on the screen. Never meeting her, yet still, she occupied a space in our hearts.

It's a long and complicated story, one that I'm not quite sure I understand. There seemed to be an issue between the rescue organization and the foster mom, a disagreement on what age she should be spayed. And thus, the rescue organization dropped her from their available puppy list.

And so we wait. There will be a puppy out there for us. We're still approved. We've already been offered a 3 1/2 month old male puppy and a 7 month old female puppy, but just not quite what we're looking for.

So what are we looking for? A female, mutt (although we are selective in what breeds) mostly large dog. We know when we see her, that she'll be the puppy for us. She's out there somewhere, and we are willing to wait for her.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Waiting Game

We're getting a PUPPY! Or at least, I am 99% certain we're getting her. Friday I found the cutest little puppy on pet finder. Tuesday I sent my application in. Yesterday, after some back and forth follow up emails, I received this one:

Hi Whirlwind! I have approved your application and forwarded it to foster mom (puppy's rescuer) Let me know if you don't hear anything back from her within 24 hours. She has been out of town for the last few days and should be getting back into town today, but she does have her laptop with her. If you would like to contact her directly, her email is xxx :) Congratulations!


That was at 11:35 am yesterday. SO needless to say, we're all waiting. The girls woke up this morning and the first thing they asked is "Did we get her? Is the puppy ours?" When I told them I thought so and I'm just waiting to hear back from the foster mom, Einey said "We probably didn't get her." She's such a pessimist.

We've talked about a puppy for the last few years. But it never felt right. Not really looking last week, I just did a quick search of local and she popped up. it was love at first sight. I almost sent in an application without talking to the Husband. She's 6 week old mixed bread like our current dog. She's a rescue and while it popped up on our local pet finder, she's actually two states away (not sure how that works, we got our current dog from the local pound).

We're excited. And nervous - puppy's are alot of work. But I'm home almost every day with nothing else to do. And we're ready. The girls are ready. The timing is perfect. We warned the girls that they will have to make sure they pick up after themselves (they kind of slack in that department). That the puppy will eat toys. Moe was concerned at that. I think having a puppy may teach my girls how to be a bit neater and clean up after themselves, even if a few small toys are harmed in the process.

And so we wait. It's currently 9:43 am and the only word I have heard from the foster mom was a forwarded email with a picture that says "we also have this 7-8 month old puppy you might be interested in". The waiting is the hard part.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Special request

Any requests while I'm at the grocery store today?

Moe: Some whipped cream.

Einey: Or some cream and a whip... if they don't have any whipped cream. We can make our own that way.

Thank God she wasn't a bit older making that first request, I might have to wonder...

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Torture...you decide

Ahh, autumn in New England. Beautiful hues of orange, yellow and red. Millions of people flock to the mountains during peak season to ooh and aww over the ever changing leaves, a patchwork of beauty across the countryside. Once the beauty is gone though, homeowners of New England are stuck behind, raking the sea of crunchy brown foliage that blankets their yards.

It's so much fun to rake and bag, rake and bag. Getting splinters from wooden rakes, blisters on your hands scratches on your arms and a lower back ache. If I could pick a nice day, I'd prefer it during the week, I'm sure I could get much more done without needing to stop ever 2.5 seconds to help someone out, yell at them to get away from the road or shoo them out of the house (today I was smart and locked all the doors behind us). At least it would be quieter. But beggars can't be choosers and I had to take the nice day when I could get it.

Today was a balmy 67 degree here so I figured it would be a great day to go out and rake and bag leaves. I fed the girls lunch and we headed out. I told them I didn't care what they did as long as they stayed in the yard and didn't fight. They said they wanted to help. So we dragged three rakes and a bag of plastic trash bags to the front of the house and proceeded to start raking. Not 60 seconds later, Moe declared she was done. Not content to play on the swings, because ours apparently aren't good enough, or climb the jungle gym, the decided to gather acorns and smash them with rocks until they accidentally smashed their thumbs.

While I was trying to get as much done as I could, it was quite apparent that they couldn't occupy themselves. I got requests to go watch TV, for candy and to go play with the girls next door (which I allowed until she left). There were pleas of hunger. I told them they could grab an apple or banana. Did you say candy they asked? NO! I finally got them occupied in the back and working along when I had to call them to bring me a shovel. I was about to grab a huge handful of leaves when I saw it. A dead mouse next to the pile. Seriously, I don't own cats, why do I keep finding dead rodents in my yard? At least this one still had it's head. This brought their curiosity where they had to watch me scoop it up and toss it into the road. Is it still dead they asked? Yup.

Then I was told "we're bored". Go play I said. "No, there's nothing to do they replied. Can we paint?" No. So while I went back to work, they proceeded to hit a tree with the rake. Then they hula hooped. Then they pretended to be witches riding the rakes around the yard and pulling leaves back into the area I already raked AND dragging the neighbors leaves into our yard. Because of course I didn't have enough leaves of our own to rake.

"Can we go to the park" they asked. "Why do you have to do this today?" they whined. (Um because I'd rather do this today while it's warm then when it's cold or wet). "Can we have candy?" they pleaded. "Are you almost done?" they asked.

And finally, I stopped, I finished all of the side area and half of the front. I can work on more tomorrow. Girls grab a rake and help me put them away. "Awww, do we have to go inside?" they asked.

So you decide, did I torture them by making them spend a beautiful day outside?

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Christmas Lists

The girls wrote their Christmas Lists last night. So grandma, no worries, here's what they want. Of course, you need mad deciphering skillz to figure it out, but you can't ask for everything :)


Here's Moe's list:
Meenie's list:
She also added SolpesesGog to the bottom.

Einey's list:
Also added: Donute faktery


Good luck!

Friday, November 06, 2009

How to skip making dinners


Step 1. Give each kid a slab of pizza dough.

Step 2. Roll it out.

Step 3. Put a spoonful of sauce on each and tell them to spread it.

See the puppy face?

Step 4. Hand over the cheese.


Step 5. Allow them to have any toppings they want with the instructions that they need to eat it later.

Step 6. Put it into the oven for 15- 20 minutes at 425 degrees.


Thursday, November 05, 2009

The Swine Flu and You (or Me in this case)

So far, we've managed to escape all things flu-ish in these parts. Knock on wood, throw a pinch of salt over our shoulders, PA-TOOUEY, spin in a circle three times while clapping our hands on one foot and run through the full moon.

The flu, on Influenza-like illness (ILI - as it's now being called since they are no longer really testing for the flu) has been waiting outside our door for the last few weeks. October 26th, we got our first (since the beginning of school) memo home, stating that there is cases of ILI in our school. That the absenteeism is up. In a small school of 215 (preK3-8th grade) that could mean that only a hand full of kids were out. In my girl's three classes, they reported that a total of 8 kids were home sick that day. Instead of panicking and flooding FaceBook with "OMG there's SWINE FLU in my kids school, I'm keeping them home FOREVER", I just talked to my kids. Made them understand that they need to wash their hands. All. The.Time. Before and after using the bathroom, before eating, after sneezing or coughing, before they touch their faces. Seems like simple things we should all be doing on a daily basis, but lets face it, we don't. And I have a fingernail biter who also has eczema and spends a great deal of time touching her face or with her hands in her mouth. I also brought all my kids bottles of hand sanitizer to keep in their bags. Two days later, we got a memo home "To the parents of Kindergartners, please do not send alcohol based hand sanitizers to school with your kindergartners. The teachers will make sure they wash their hands and sanitize them properly". My kid swears she wasn't misusing hers... Each kid also has a bottle near their booster seat and no to do one squirt when they get in the car after school, after soccer, after whatever. You know, just in case.

I'm not calling for school to close. I know it's there and we are aware. In fact, we got a third memo home showing how the school is also working their way at combating the spread of illness (other then the obvious of keeping your sick kids home). "Please be advised that your children need to bring their own water bottles to school. Teachers will no longer be allowing them to use the bubbler's during school". No biggie, my kids (as have most) have been bringing their own water to school since day 1.

On the subject of vaccination, we have chosen not to vaccinate our children or ourselves for either the seasonal or the H1N1 flu. We know the risks associated with the shots and the risks of what could happen without the shots. We know, inevitably, we will face the flu. And with five of us, it could get ugly. We know we're bound to get sick.

To say we're not worried is an understatement. It scares the be-jeasus out of me that something could happen. It scares me to think that we may or may not have made the right choice. Our oldest is old enough to know what's going on. She knows who and who hasn't been vaccinated. And we've talked. She knows she's not getting vaccinated and she's okay with that.

Whether we choose on our own to vaccinate or not, in reality, it's a moot point. Because, there aren't enough vaccines to go around. And if you can find that one shot now, the is no guarantee you can find the follow up shot (since we've never vaccinated for the flu before) in a month) Our children are healthy. And over the age of 4. We have no babies in the house and nor am I pregnant. I am the only asthmatic in the house, yet I suffer far fewer respiratory illnesses then my husband. I was diagnosed when I was a little older the Einey, so hopefully we won't find out the hard way that they follow in my footsteps.

Another great blogger wrote this piece the other day. And I can't stop thinking about it as I sit here and write. In this case, it's so true. With blogger's being the new "media" it's hard to separate fact from fiction. If you took every email, every post, every Tweet at face value, your head would spin. But people do and people are, and it's feeding our panic filled hearts.

Here are some things I've read in recent weeks:

  • Putting an onion in your room while you sleep will pull the toxins from the air and clear your lungs.
  • Take extra vitamin D.
  • The Swine Flu virus lives on surfaces for only 2 hours, therefore schools don't need to be cleaned thoroughly every night.
  • You should use a neti-pot to clean your nasal cavity each night and you won't get sick.
  • Gargling with salt water 3x a day will prevent you from getting sick.
  • The Swine Flu virus lives on surfaces for up to 48 hours.
  • Drinking hot liquids will keep you from getting sick. It's the reason more kids are getting sick then adult because kids don't tend to drink hot liquids on a daily basis. Apparently the virus cannot proliferate in a warm environment.
  • Kids are dying from the flu.
  • Kids are dying or becoming paralyzed from the flu shot.
  • Doctor's are being penalized if they give a school aged child the flu shot because the schools are doing mass vaccinations (a child who goes to school in on state whose schools are not mass vaccinating, but whose pediatrician is in a neighboring state and refused to vaccinate said child).
  • The flu is a giant government conspiracy. That Obama has his pharmaceutical croonies just like Bush had his oil croonies.
  • The FDA violate it's own rules by not documenting it's testing and giving ample time to prove the vaccine is safe.
  • Some doctor's are stating that just one shot - the H1N1 will protect against both the seasonal and swine flu so you only need one shot.

Obviously some of it may help. Some of it may be true. But others are just so out there. It's easy to see how mass hysteria starts. How people are given false information and believe it's truth. There are so many, many theories and thoughts and facts and fiction, it's hard to sort them out. It's part of why I don't know if we're doing the right thing.

No matter what your thoughts are, take the time, do some research. Look further then the front page for your information. Research your local Health Department and the CDC's websites. Read the New England Journal of Medicine. Stay up-to-date on how the flu is spreading through your community. be proactive rather then reactive. Take precautions. Wash your hands. Cover your cough. Talk to your doctor.

Here's to hoping we all stay as healthy as we can!

Sunday, November 01, 2009

November 1st

It's 8 am and I've already had one child stomp upstairs in an angry huff.

The morning arrived early - I was up at 5 before the sun rose for the day. I woke on my own accord, to switch vehicles with my Husband. We arrived in later than him last night due from our frightfully fun festivities. And neither of us had the desire to switch them last night. This morning, unlike most, I had no desire to go back to sleep. This morning I snuggled up on the couch with some warm blankets and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. I could hear the dog stirring upstairs, the wind rustling the bushes outside the window. Meenie tossing and turning a bit, Moe coughing (a deep, croupy sounding cough) and Einey's soft breaths. I could hear the heat cycling on upstairs and the cars rolling along the road. I could get used to the this I thought, having time to wake up before others. To let my body rouse itself from deep slumbers it harbors. To have time to adjust to being conscious, before needing to act.

By 6 am, Moe woke and joined me on the couch. Sweet five year old Moe, no longer a baby. But still. Still she is able to curl up on my lap. To snuggle in the pre-dawn hours. Her little body pressed close to mine. She moved only to cover her cough. Once her little body awoke, she moved to the other couch, to watch some Sunday morning cartoons. Old school - Tom and Jerry. Back before cartoons were deemed to violent. Meenie soon joined her sister, snuggling close. I watched them watching their cartoons. By 7 am, they were both awake. Hungry, wanting breakfast. Cheerios for one, yogurt for the other. We ate in silence and then move back to the living room.

Not content to watch TV anymore, they broke out some crafts they received last night. With little help, they punched out their crafts and began assembling them. They worked together and in the end, a ghost and witch were born.

By quarter of eight, Einey joined us in the land of the living. I wouldn't expect otherwise. Einey is my night owl. Content to stay up late playing games, watching TV or reading in her room. She's a bear if roused earlier than the sun.

And then, peace was momentarily shattered. Eieny was playing her DS. Moe grabbed Meenie's DS. Meenie said NO. Moe stomped upstairs. Moe loves the DS. Moe doesn't have her own yet. She's saved for 1/2 of it right now. We told her Christmas is coming, maybe she'll get the rest of what she's saving then. Maybe not. It took her sister's a long time to save for theirs. She stomped upstairs to cool off. A few moments later, she returned. May I please play Webkinz Wuy-orld? And in that time, balance was achieved, peace restored.

While I relish the peaceful moments while everyone else slumbers, I don't look forward to losing daylight mid-afternoon. I know it will be all too soon before I pick them up from school, narrowly beating the fleeting hour of daylight we have left. To have the long hours of darkness to which we need to supplement artificial light for natural light (which coincidentally, I need to replace some light bulbs soon. Like yesterday before the time played it's game on me).

It's now 8:20. Peace is restored and we have a long day ahead. I can't wait to see what's in store today and the rest of the year.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Best note home from school ever

Click for larger view


Aww, I really wanted to go to the moon!

Seriously, this is just another reason why I love our kids school.


Lunar rover mentioned above

Oh and the weather mentioned above- was a forecast of snow and sleet. Which it did for a bit, no accumulation (actually, I laughed when I read the weather statement on the weather station that mentioned record snow was recorded at BDL as a trace amount).

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Soccer Days are coming to an end....

I love that my girls play soccer. I love that they seem to enjoy it. I love that we were lucky and Einey and Meenie were on the same team this year. I love that we only have practice twice a week (as opposed to four times this time last year).

But there are many things I don't like this year. Most of them due to the older girls game times.

U8 games at 2:00 pm. Every other age group plays in the morning. Except u8. I've had a girl on u-8 for 3 seasons now and will have at least one child in this age group for the next 7 season - GAH! Since the games are so late in the day, during the spring, they are just so darn hot. And right now, my kids are a bit upset and hating soccer. not the sport, but because they've missed so many things this year. Due to our afternoon games, we have (or will when the games end in 3 weeks) miss(ed) 4 birthday parties, 2 Halloween Parties, the Great Pumpkin Festival in the neighboring town, 2 Letterboxing events we really wanted to attend and the towns annual Trick or Treat on Main Street. I am squeezing in one child selling GS cookies but only because I took the late slot 4:00 to 5:00 pm. They're upset about it.

Games being on Halloween. They skipped Columbus Day weekend for the holiday but are playing on Halloween. Who the hell cares about Columbus Day? For Halloween, my kids have to miss a party AND the town's Trick or Treat on Main Street. Not that I car about the candy, but my kids like these events. And, since Husband is working, I need to get to two different fields (a game from 11-12 at our home field) hurry home, feed them lunch to make it to the away field at 1:30 for our 2:00 pm game. If we are lucky, we'll leave the field by 3:30 pm and make it home by 4:00 pm. Where I will attempt to feed them dinner, get them dressed and figure out where we are trick or treating. Did I mention I'm alone?

Our soccer league. Not getting into it here, but GAH! Lots and Lots of stuff can fall under this category.

Okay, need to balance this out, it's sounding too negative.

I LOVE coaching. I love all of our little "mini's". I love watching them play and seeing how much they've improved over the season. I love their enthusiasm. I love their theatrics. I love the smiles on their faces when they score a goal.

I love watching the older kids play. To see them work as a team as opposed to an amoeba. I love listening to them communicate.

I love playing in the rain (although not the snow, and not when it's freezing).

I love my kids coaches. They all have great coaches and great teams.

I love the crisp autumn mornings on the soccer field. Sitting with my camera and hot chocolate.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Better sleep with one eye open...

Ever have that feeling that someone is out to get you?

Yesterday was a rare morning where Husband had the day off. Even rarer was the fact that he helped make lunches while I was combing hair, helping with belts, ties, shoes and packing snacks. I made Meenie's sandwich while Husband made Einey and Moe chicken ceasar salad as per their request. He added the pasta, the chopped celery, the chopped carrots, the chopped turkey (shhh!) and the dressing. Just like mom makes. But apparently he went a step further and added something else.

So.........

When we picked the girls up from school, Moe looked at me and said "I only ate one bit of my salad, it had some red stuff in it". Looking at Husband, I said "what did you add to the salad". "Dried Cranberries he replied". He looked at her and said "but you like dried cranberries". She said "but I didn't know what it was".

Obviously he didn't learn from the time Einey was in kindergarten and accused us of putting poison in her salad for lunch one day (we added bean sprouts, which she likes but had never had in salad).

Obviously, I'll be making lunches from now on.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Sell-outs

Yesterday we were joking around and the kids asked why we were being mean to each other. I came out with yeah, your dad is soooo mean, he even hit me earlier. No way the girls replied. Yeah he did, and he left a bruise. Oh, can we see they asked? I showed them the two inch round bruise that is purpling on my thigh. Ouch,they remarked. Then Husband was like you shouldn't have told them that, now they're going to go into school and tell someone that.

All joking aside, I said, you know daddy would never hit any of us, right? Yeah. So, where did I get that bruise then? Einey quickly replied, daddy hit you. Thankfully Meenie and Moe said, no, remember when the boxes of games fell off the shelf the other night and hit moms leg? That's when it happened, right. Yes it was.

Which leads us to our realization, Einey would sell us out for nothing. Add in an incentive and she'd totally bail!

*********************************************


Last night I was mashing potatoes, stirring gravy and rolling biscuits. I had an almost eight year old child in the kitchen complaining about how hungry she was. As I was doing the above mentioned items, the timer went off indicating the turkey should be finished cooking. She quickly announced that the turkey was done, as if I couldn't hear the timer. I told her it should be but I needed to check it and could she please go ask her father to come check the turkey for me. As she walked out the room, she shot back "why, don't you know how to use the oven mitts?"

I know she's going through another phase and it's normal for some back talk and wise cracks, but man oh man. It makes me wonder if I'll survive the teen years! What were we thinking?

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Morning Queen Update

Now I am officially irked. I have spent the whole day washing, drying, folding, sorting, purging and putting away my children's clothes. With the exception of the clothes on their backs and what they wore yesterday, they are all accounted for and put away. Items still missing? FIVE long sleeve dress shirts for school. WTF!!!!

Note to Husband, I may wash, dry and fold, but your clothes are not going to put themselves away. Get to it.

I am the queen of the morning

alternately titled: I need to buy a freakin' alarm clock because my kids are broken.

I have never needed an alarm clock because I can always count on my kids waking up at the ass crack of dawn, otherwise known as 6:15. For the last week and a half, they've been broken. First it was 6:45, then 7:15 until this week, it's reached 8:00 am that we've been rousing from slumber. School, for the record, starts at 8:30 am.

Here is synopsis of our morning today:

8:00 am - Me, rolls over, looks bleary eyed at the alarm clock. Crap! Yells- girls, time to wake up.

8:01 am - Hears the bus stop across the street (totally irrelevant information, BTW)

8:02 am - Walks into Einey's room and pulls to covers off her

8:02:45 am -Walks into Meenie and Moe's room, pulls to covers off Moe. Start to hand Meenie a long sleeve polo from the closet and pants I grabbed from the top of the hamper as I walked by. She announces she wants to wear a jumper. Puts shirt back in closet and attempts to grab a long sleeve dress shirt, only to find none.

8:04 am - Tosses pants back into hamper, tells Moe to grab pants and a long sleeve shirt and walks to the laundry basket in my room. Asks Einey what she's wearing on the way by. She wants the same as Meenie.

8:04 am - Pull out two jumpers. Search for long sleeve shirt. None, nada, zilch.

8:05 am - Checks Einey closet - none

8:06 am - Runs down to the basement and looks in washer (not that it would help) and finds no long sleeve shirts, mostly polos and short sleeve dress shirts. Quick check of the dryer - adult dark clothes. Basket on he floor? Adult dark clothes. Runs back up(2 sets of)stairs carrying basket because she can see it's a laundry day.

8:07 am - Finds one long sleeve shirt in basket of laundry.

8:09 am - Tells Einey she has to wear a short sleeve dress shirt with a sweater. Looks into closet- only school sweat shirts. CRAP!

8:10 am - Miraculously finds a blue cardigan AND matching knee socks (yes, I know, how hard can that be? But, for some reason, they have THREE different types of blue knee socks). Makes mental note to find out where the other FIVE long sleeve shirts have dissappeared to. I can account for all of their laundry and they're not there.

8:11 am - See's Moe still standing around undressed with no clothes in sight. Moe says her belly hurts. I tell her she probably has to poop and to get dressed. She says "no it hurts right here _ pointing to her mid right side). I feel it, feels find tells her she probably has to poop and to get dressed. She shoots me the stink eye and stomps out the room.

8:12 am - Sees Moe trying to put on size 2-3 tights. I throw those away and hands her a new pair. She puts on her magenta skirt. As I'm looking for a shirt, she asks for her purple owl Halloween shirt. I toss it to her and attempt to herd the cats kids downstairs. Stopping only to help Meenie with her tie. * Start wondering if 8:12 am is too late to transfer them to public school?

8:15 am - Grab signed progress reports AND fundraiser form with money. Walk to kitchen and start shoving them in backpacks (hope I got the right one's!). Fill three water bottles.

8:16 am - Pull down snack box with one hand and grab winter-ish coats with another. Drop snack box on floor, instruction them to only take TWO snacks from the bucket today and some fruit/yogurt/cheese sticks. Also grab plastic spoons in anticipation of them grabbing applesauce. And pull out three earmuffs and deposit on the floor.

8:18 am - Instruct kids to put on shoes while getting snacks and putting them in their lunchboxes while I make their sandwiches. Einey asks for egg salad. I tell her fat chance, takes way to long to boil the eggs. Promise to boil eggs today while I make three bologna and cheese sandwiches.

8:20 am - Zip up lunchboxes and tell the kids to start putting them in their bags. I start combing their hair, finish and see two lunch boxes still on the table. Put those in bags, see kids with coats, shoes (AMAZINGLY because for some reason, this ALWAYS takes Moe 10 minutes, not because she can't do it, but because she's the queen of procrastination and indecision!). Also see kids grabbed BTG** (A nutrigrain bar, a Granola bar and a Rice Crispie treat - ignoring the fact that the last doesn't really fall under a breakfast category)

8:23 am - Walk of the door. Looks at the van and declares the universe hates me. Einey laughs at this declaration. Turn on the van, tell the kids to buckle up or I shut the van off taking away their only source of heat. Start scrapping windows.

8:24 am - Get in, and backs out of driveway. Can't see to well, but the windows will clear soon. I hope.

8:29 am - Pulls into school parking lot. Even remarking how we hit all three red lights between our house and the school. Walk up to school and catch the end of the line. Notice that we can count on others to be running later then us.

8:31 am - Realizes when I see another child in Moe's class walk in, that I sent Moe into school in a skirt and dress shoes. Today is Wednesday. Wednesday is gym day. Shrug it off and say either a) the gym teacher won't come in today or b) it's not like they actually do anything in gym anyway.

8: 52 am *** - Walk back in the door and grab a bowl of cookie crisp not available for public consumption and pour myself a bowl. Vow to start folding laundry once I'm finished checking email and playing around on FaceBook.

* Notice that somehow, I have managed, not only to get dressed, with all clean clothes, but also comb my hair and brush my teeth

** Breakfast To Go - something we've excelled at the past few years....


*** Yes, I realize that's a big time difference, but I was catching up with friends...

~~~Note, normally, we take out uniforms, pack bags and make lunches the night before. We've I've been lazy since returning home from Maine.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

School Picture Day

Today is school picture day.

Last night I was at book club and we were talking about school pictures. One mom mentioned taking her boys for haircuts. Baths were mentioned. New clothes. Putting the kids to bed early.

I sat back, listened and thought "SHIT".

My girls haven't had a fresh haircut (done by someone other then them self) in awhile. Baths were doe the night before, so didn't even think about doing them again. No outfits were layed out. No new clothes purchased. We'll probably be scrambling in the morning. What was I thinking? Ahhhhhhhh!

But I'm happy to say, the girls picked out some nice outfits, didn't spill food on themselves (maybe I should have had them wait to get dressed?) and their hair looked cute. As long as they don't make any funny faces, we should be all set!

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of school pictures anyway. We dutifully buy a package when offered and send them to relatives as requested. But to me, those aren't my kids. I'd rather take my own shots and print them to go out.

These, these are my girls...


I was outvoted and told that I cannot use this as our Christmas card photo this year.

Monday, October 05, 2009

It's not cheating when there is ice cream involved....

We took the girls to a local corn maze on a sunny, autumn afternoon. We arrived, paid our fee and was given a map (to use if lost) and a list of blank spaces in which to answer questions relating to, of course, turkeys and Thanksgiving. Thinking we were pretty smart, we headed into the maze, map in pocket. Before long we, came to the first question. Okay, not to bad, we can do this. A little more wandering and question number two. Yup, got that. A bit more and question number five. WTF? How did we miss three and four? Pull out the map and figure out where we are and how we missed them (they're not listed on the maps, but we could see we skipped a big section of it). Start heading back. At this point, we encountered two lost souls on cell phones talking to other lost sols and trying to reconnect with their group. A little further back and we meet another family - they looking for five, and found three and four. We point one direction and they indicate to us to "follow the trail of corn ala Hansal and Gretal style on the ground". Heading back, we encounter the rest of the lost souls and indicate they follow the corn the opposite direction to find their friends.

We get those and head back. Throughout the maze - we kept bumping into 2-3 groups of the same people. At one point, we were two of us were standing at a question and someone whipped out an IPhone to look it up. Heh. We laugh and go on our separate ways. We kept bumping into the same groups - often someone asking if they found a specific sign. At one point you heard shouted over the corn - "x question is wrong, it's B". At one point, one of the girls asked, "isn't this cheating?". It's not cheating if you want the ice cream was the reply :)

So we made it through the maze and were taking pictures of the kids when one of the IPhone groupies came over and told us "X question" was wrong*. So we were able to change it and the kids got their free ice cream.

All in all, it was a great day - corn maze, free ice cream, hay rides and free face painting (which were AMAZING).

* We did figure out most of the questions on our own - we had our answers written down when the other group looked theirs up.
The girls were able to figure some of them out by remembering things they learned on our trip to Plymouth last spring.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Happy Birthday, babycakes!


Today, my baby girl turns five. FIVE!

No longer is she a whirling mass of instability. There is thought behind her chaos now (heh).


She's a thinker, a climber, a coffee drinker.

She loves owls. And friends.

She's considerate and caring. She's independent. A super puzzle solver.


She a kindergartner now. A soccer player. A scout.

No longer my little blue eyed baby.

Happy birthday, babycakes, you'll always be my baby!


Moe's birthday - age 4 (and links to other great Moe-ism throughout the years).

Friday, September 18, 2009

Refreshed and Relaxed



Maine was a blast! We had so much fun and it was so relaxing. We almost didn't come home. The spa we stayed at was overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We kept the window cracked and night and listened to the waves crashing on the rocks below. The weather was perfect. The food was wonderful. And the people were super friendly. We ate. We hiked. We talked. We ate some more. We walked on the beach. We got massages and pedicures. We ate some more. We explored. We laughed. We facebooked. We called our kids. We drank. We wandered. We held hands in the rain. We took pictures. We had a fantastic time and are eternally grateful for the friends and family who took our kids in for the 5 days we were gone.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Oh the Irony

Our first weekend alone in the almost 8 years since our oldest daughter was born and who should come knocking on the door a week early? WTF did I do to deserve this? Come on karma, didn't I let the people with less stuff go in line in front of me at Target last week? Sure, you rewarded me with finding 20 bucks, but this? This is just unfair.

I once told my husband I wanted a voluntary hysterectomy. It's not like I need any of my parts anymore, our baby making days are over. He doesn't think our doctor will by that as a valid reason to perform an invasive surgery. So yeah, I lose.

Whatever, I guess we're off to enjoy the spa without the added benefit of being alone. Guess we'll have to actually venture outside the walls of our room to view the glorious seascape of southern Maine.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

If you ever ask me this, I'll probably deny it

but I miss my kids.

There are no cartoons blaring in the background. No bickering over toys. No demands for food even though we just ate. No fighting. No messes. My house is clean, I;ve been working room by room since school started and amazingly, it's not destroyed 5 seconds later. The floor is not longer sticky. The toilets are flushed.

The silence is deafening. More so then any of the above could be.

My job here is done. I know I cannot do this anymore every day. I need to get out.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Today....


Today I woke up early and refreshed.

Today I had to drag my four year old out of bed.

Today she missed breakfast because she was dawdling.

Today she threw her backpack on the ground, stomped her feet and crossed her arms, like only a teenager should do.

Today she declared "I don't want to go to school today. School is bor-ring. All we do is play".

Today I had to carry her bag to the car.

Today I had to take her by the hand up to the play yard.

Today she clung to my leg.

Today I had to hand her to her teacher.

Today she cried. "Mommy, mommy, I want mommy".

Today my heart broke.

And so starts day 4 of kindergarten.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Kindergarten

Here's a letter I sent as a cover to some friends.

"Many of us moms sent our kids back to school this week. For some of us, the summer went by way to quick, and we weren't ready to make that transition back to school - especially with all the rain we had. For some, school got out late last June and started this week - not nearly as long as we'd like. For others of us, we couldn't wait to see our kids back to school. Either school got out early last June or our kids were getting bored. For many of us, we'll be giving up that freedom of the summer schedule - no schedule no worries. We'll be trading in our bathing suits and sunblock for soccer, dance and scouts. For football and cheerleading. Schedules will be dictated by the ringing of the school bell. Mornings which for the last 8 weeks were a leisurely wake up, with a cup of coffee and cartoons, will be a blur of breakfast and getting dressed and packing bags, to make sure we hit that bus or make it to school on time. Some of us moms have just kissed our youngest child on the forehead as they head off for kindergarten. Bittersweet, our days are now filled with silence and not in the best way. For us, it's time to turn a new page in our roles as stay at home mothers."

Wednesday, I sent Moe off to kindergarten. last week, she was going 1/2 days, this week she'll be going for full days. I have been a stay at home mom for the past 7 1/2 years, minus the first 7 months for Einey's life. For me, this is my first time without kids. Way back in time, after I started staying home, I thought I would be going back to school when my kids were in school. The goal was for me to get a degree in nursing. And it's still something I'd like to do. However, Husband is in school right now. He'll be in school for the next two years. And there is no way we can afford to send five of us to school (although technically, we're not paying for Husband to go to school, however, he's not working overtime right now). So for now, I'm going o continue subbing in the local public school district and keep my eye on any jobs that come around.

Sending Moe off to school was easier then I thought. I was a wreck when I sent my oldest. I thought for sure that I would be a little weepy as I sent Moe through the door, in her little line of friends. Instead, it was Moe who clung to me at the last moment, not quite sure that she wanted to go it. With a few extra hugs, she released her grip on me and headed on her way. She's growing fast, it's hard to believe that in a few short weeks, she'll turn five.

I'm excited for her. For me. For us. There are so many things going on and so many paths we are walking on. But they will all come together soon. Until then, we keep on walking, where ever the paths lead us.

Edit 8/31: Day 4 was not a good start.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Back to school

The girls went back to school Wednesday.

But Friday, I was sick of making lunches and laying out clothes the night before. And waking up early. Yeah, it's gonna be a long year :P

Here's what we learned this week.

Moe: She's done with kindergarten. After the first day. It's bor-ring (said complete with rolled eyes and the exasperation of an 8 year old). They didn't learn anything, all they did was play.

Meenie: School is fun, we play with playdough alot and I talk to my friends.

Einey: I love third grade. I talk to my friends, we have snack outside (and can play too) and recess is fun. Oh and we watched a movie.

Me: Wonders what the heck I'm paying for.....

Of course, with back to school comes the not so good. Three days in and Einey is already all congested, drippy and running a low temperature. Accourding to the 16 million papers I've gotten in the last three days, she's got the swine flu and needs to stay home for a long, long time. That or she caught a small cold and/or her allergies are acting up. Judging how miserable her father has been with allergies the last two weeks, I'll go with the latter.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The ABC's of Summer - 2009 edition

You can read our 2008 edition here.

A
is for ants. OMG the freaking ants.

B is for bee stings, ouch!

C is for colored hair. The girls really rocked their extensions this summer. It was well worth it!

D is for digging. I dug and installed a pond in the yard. Even before the landscaping was finished, it attracted frogs. Fun!

E is for exhausted girls. Hiking and swimming really wear you out!


F is for friends. Friends for picking blueberries, hiking and playing games, having water gun fights with and eating ice cream. For sleeping over at and watching concerts with. For swimming and going on rides with.

G is for giggly girls. No sound is sweeter.

H is for hiking, we logged in over 25 miles this summer! The girls did great and can now regularly endure 3-4 mile hikes.

I is for ice cream! We love ice cream. The girls figured out that the local place will give them a scoop of any flavor they want to try first. So each ice cream cone follows a spoonful. The good thing, they've tried (and lied) a bunch of new flavors!

J is for jumping rope and hula hoops. Little girls playing on the deck, rain or shine. It's also for jumping off docks! Einey was so proud to pass the swim test and to be allowed in the deep end, where she could happily jump off the docks all summer long.

K is for kicking soccer balls. We spent one week watching Meenie at soccer camps, kicking away.

L is for letterboxing. We found over 65 letterboxes, planted 18 and attended one event this summer.

M is for mulching the garden. Barefoot. See "x" below. Note to self - wear shoes when gardening!

N is for painted nails. Pink, green, blue. Sometimes alone or all at once.

O is for opening gifts at their un-birthday party.

P is for parties. We ended the summer this weekend with our third annual back to school bash.

Q is for quiet afternoons swimming at the lake. We spent many, many days up at the lake. The kids had a blast playing with the lifeguards and Einey LOVED being one of the few people allowed to swim in the deep end and jump off the docks (you need to pass a swim test first).

R is for rain. We had way more then normal this summer in New England!

S is for studying, studying, studying. Husband went back to school at work and while he's actually on a 7-3, 40 hour work week, so theoretically, should have more time at home, he doesn't. He may physically be home more, but his head is buried so far into the textbooks, a bomb could go off around him and he not notice.

T is for turtle. We enjoyed our summer with the school turtle - even if he tried to bogart my lattes - he swam in our pond while we cleaned out his cage. He's welcome back anytime he wants to visit!

U is for new umbrella's on the deck. A way to sit and relax without the rays of the sun beating down on you.

V is for veggies - fresh from the farm. There is nothing better. It's going to be a long winter!

W is for water in the basement. So. not. cool.

X is for x-rays. Four of them on my right foot. Diagnosis - Phalanx Toe (Proximal) Fracture, right foot. I also got a tetanus shot thrown in for good measure! It should be interesting, soccer starts up again this week and I am coaching my little guys again!

Y is for big yellow sunflowers, waving in the breeze.


Z
is for zzzz which we'll need tonight. Tomorrow is our first day back to school, we'll need to be refreshed!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Lists

School starts in one week. Our summer has been great - nice and relaxing, but it's time to go back. The kids are getting antsy. And while we've enjoyed limited sunshine and warmth this summer, the heat is finally here - I actually hope it cools down before the kids start school.

All over Twitter and Facebook are posts about back to school shopping. It used to make me sad, thinking about all the clothes I wouldn't be buying my kids. But then I actually think about how much I save on not buying clothes for back to school, about not battling the kids in the morning about outfits to wear and I think I've actually made out better in this deal. When Einey started kindergarten - we took her out on a big shopping spree. We brought her all kinds of new clothes for school. That she never wore. With Meenie, we brought her a few outfits and then just replaced as needed. For Moe, I picked up a few things on Etsy. But again, my kids have Moe clothes then they need. I look at the piles needed to be folded, the full hampers and wonder how they could possibly have any more clean. We don't buy them many clothes - they get them as gifts, as hand-me-downs. They don't grow fast.

For school clothes, I needed to pick up more uniforms. This will be the first year with two in uniforms - next year, all three will be in them. For girls, they actually have a lot of options - to mix and match. Einey is going on year three of wearing most of the same uniform we got her in first grade. We've had to replace shoes each year, some shirts and get longer pants. For Meenie, I was given some hand-me-downs, so I only had to buy a few items.
  • Plaid jumper
  • Short sleeve Peter Pan collared, button up shirt
  • Red tie
  • Blue knee hi's
  • Brown or back Dress shoes
  • Long sleeve button up shirt
  • Blue uniform shorts
  • Blue pants
  • White crew cut socks
  • Sneakers
  • Short sleeve polo
  • Long Sleeve Polo
  • Red Gym Shorts
  • Red Gym Pants
  • Red Sweater
  • Red or Blue Cardigan
Now onto the individual classroom lists.

Third Grade:
1 backpack (still using the one we got for kindergarten)
6 wooden pencils, sharpened
3 Lg. erasers
1 handheld pencil sharpener (with collection well)
1 pair Fiskars metal scissors
12 inch ruler (standard and metric)
2 ruled marbled composition notebook
2 lg. glue sticks
8 oz. bottle Elmer's school glue
2 pocket folders
2 red pens
crayons
colored pencils
1 set watercolor paints w/ brush
2 white board markers
1 old sock to use on white board
multiplication flash cards
1 plastic storage box for supplies
1 box of gallon sized Ziploc bags
3 containers of antibacterial wipes
3 boxes of tissues

First Grade:
5 pencils, sharpened
1 lg. eraser
1 pair Fiskar metal scissors
12 inch ruler (standard and metric)
2 wide ruled marbled composition notebook
2 lg. glue sticks
1 bottle Elmer's school glue
1 back pack, no wheels (still using the one we got for pre-k)
1 handheld pencil sharpener (with collection well)
1 pocket folders
crayons
markers
colored pencils
1 set watercolor paints w/ brush
1 set fine point white board markers
1 standard blank cassette tape (Still haven't located one yet)
1 plastic storage box for supplies
1 containers of antibacterial wipes
1 boxes of tissues

and Kindergarten:
backpack (still using the one we got for pre-k)
1 plastic view two pocket folder
1 pair blunt fiskar scissors
1 pair paper edger scissors
art shirt
box of 16 crayons
box of tissues
1 set wide washable markers
1 set watercolor paints and brush
$15 for other supplies
1 pencil
1 sponge
1 elmer's glue
1 container of disinfecting wipes
4 glue sticks
1 12x12 top loading scrapbook
3 boxes of clear 300+ count glue dots
$15 of scrapbooking supplies

And then whatever else gets requested as the year rolls on. I think we're ready for school as far as clothes and supplies go.