The boys birthdays were this month. Originally, Sean was going to have a scavenger hunt through the neighborhood. I spend one afternoon at work (the phone doesn't ring) planning this scavenger hunt party. I had the clues made up and was ready to enlist some of the neighbors to help.
I came up with the idea of taking Patrick's friends to visit the USS Salem. Originally it was supposed to be a typical tour of the ship~learn the history, etc., etc. It then turned into this http://www.hauntedship.com/ .
Patrick loved the idea, and when Sean learned what we were doing, he wanted in as well. Scavenger Hunt party and all the work put into it (while mommy was at work)...scrapped.
Ok, so a haunted tour of the USS Salem it is. I checked with some parents and they seemed to think it was ok.
Off we went the night of the party. I dragged the kids out of my house where they were happily playing with Nerf swords and guns, chasing each other around the yard and into the woods (which was making me nervous because it was getting dark and I was worried I'd lose a kid in the woods behind the house). It was like pulling teeth to get them come in for pizza, cake and ice cream. They were all having too much fun (note to self~don't come up with any bright ideas when kids are having fun).
After eating we loaded into three cars and off we went to the ship. They were all excited and couldn't wait to get there. Not too many felt the same when we boarded the ship. Can you say DISASTER!!! The first child dropped out immediately when we got on the deck. They dropped like flies from then on. Brian had taken the first to the car to stay warm. I had to call him and have him come back to get the 5 others who wouldn't even walk to the entrance of the tour!
We finally broke into two groups and started the tour. We made it about half way when my group had to leave because Sean was terrified and one of his friends was crying. When I came up onto the deck I found that the other group (headed by my good friend) were already back at the entrance (not even on the deck)!
Total disaster! One of the 10 year olds even commented that it was the worst party ever! Really, the worst???? Yes he told me. The house was the best part and that's were he would have liked to stay. Several others asked if we could go back to the house to continue playing. It was 9:00 at this point, so that wasn't an option.
Next year~we play with Nerf swords and guns in the yard~and even the woods if they want!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Lost Teeth
Caroline lost her first tooth on Sunday, October 24th at 4 p.m. (how anal is that, but I've kept the date and time for the other two and have to do the same). She has been so excited for this and I can't believe it is here already. She pulled it out of her mouth herself and was so proud. I had just been running around looking for the camera to get one last picture of her with all her baby teeth and when I turned around this is what I saw.
Happy Birthday, Patrick!
As his actual birthday was October 15th, this post is long overdue, in part due to the busy schedule of my now 10 year old, Patrick. He is a go getter, an achiever, athletic, social, kind and smart. An all around stereotypical 1st child. Even without all those qualities, we love him so much and can't believe he's 10!
He is also a kid who takes him time doing almost everything (his most frustrating quality to date), which is apropo since he took his sweet time to be born. My water broke on a Friday night at about 10 pm and he didn't come into this world until Sunday afternoon at 3:30~and even at that point it wasn't willingly. He is still this way today.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday, and I can't believe it was 10 years ago. In those 10 years he has already done so much. He excels academically...and amazes me that he doesn't accept anything lower than a 90. I think he's only received a grade lower than 90 once in his short elementary career. He reads voraciously...loves nearly everything he can get his hands on. Harry Potter, Lightning Thief, history (my favorite, which I am so excited about)...he'll read books in a day. He loves sports, especially soccer and baseball. I loved playing baseball with him in the front yard of our old house when he was three and then with he and Sean when Sean was about the same age. It's one of my best memories of them when they were younger.
Above all, he is such a good person. He is kind, loving, a good friend, brother and son. He talks with everyone and excludes no one. In his 10 years I have never heard him say anything bad about anyone until recently (and that was to comment that another student in school, who has been mean to him, was not nice). Even this he has handled with grace and composure.
We are so fortunate to have him in our lives and love him so much!
He is also a kid who takes him time doing almost everything (his most frustrating quality to date), which is apropo since he took his sweet time to be born. My water broke on a Friday night at about 10 pm and he didn't come into this world until Sunday afternoon at 3:30~and even at that point it wasn't willingly. He is still this way today.
I remember that day as if it were yesterday, and I can't believe it was 10 years ago. In those 10 years he has already done so much. He excels academically...and amazes me that he doesn't accept anything lower than a 90. I think he's only received a grade lower than 90 once in his short elementary career. He reads voraciously...loves nearly everything he can get his hands on. Harry Potter, Lightning Thief, history (my favorite, which I am so excited about)...he'll read books in a day. He loves sports, especially soccer and baseball. I loved playing baseball with him in the front yard of our old house when he was three and then with he and Sean when Sean was about the same age. It's one of my best memories of them when they were younger.
Above all, he is such a good person. He is kind, loving, a good friend, brother and son. He talks with everyone and excludes no one. In his 10 years I have never heard him say anything bad about anyone until recently (and that was to comment that another student in school, who has been mean to him, was not nice). Even this he has handled with grace and composure.
We are so fortunate to have him in our lives and love him so much!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Dear Mr. 4th Grade Teacher~
I moved to this town for the great school system. And a great one it is. I wanted my kids to have the best I could afford to give them in terms of that. I thought with that came the responsibility of the teachers to teach my kids. My expectations are for YOU to teach them at school and for them to come home with homework that they could do to reinforce the wealth of knowledge you gave them from 9-3. It's not exactly going how I planned. So, I have a request~could you please cut me some slack on the homework??? I mean it's killing me. Don't you know I have four other kiddos to care for after school, help with homework, break up fights between, drive to and pick up from CCD, soccer, hockey and daisies, entertain, feed, bathe, read to and get to sleep. This doesn't exactly leave a lot of time for ME to actually HELP with homework.
And while I'm at it~could you tone down the difficulty a bit? I wasn't a geometry genius in high school, what makes you think I can help my fourth grader with it 15 years later??!! And does he really need to read 1000 pages this quarter to get a 4 in reading on his report card? If he does, did you have to tell him that reading so much would get him a 4. He has become obsessed...an obsession I don't have time for!!!
To make it worse, I'm told by 5th grade moms that book reports will be added to this craziness! Where do you think I'm going to fit that in? The weekends~the only days when I actually have time to clean my house, in between driving to and from and attending soccer and hockey games, because my husband is home to entertain all of these kids for me!
So, please, when doling out the homework load...please keep the poor, tired, weary, overwhelmed, stressed and somewhat braindead (speaking for myself anyway) parents in mind. We could use a break.
Sincerely,
Patrick's mom
And while I'm at it~could you tone down the difficulty a bit? I wasn't a geometry genius in high school, what makes you think I can help my fourth grader with it 15 years later??!! And does he really need to read 1000 pages this quarter to get a 4 in reading on his report card? If he does, did you have to tell him that reading so much would get him a 4. He has become obsessed...an obsession I don't have time for!!!
To make it worse, I'm told by 5th grade moms that book reports will be added to this craziness! Where do you think I'm going to fit that in? The weekends~the only days when I actually have time to clean my house, in between driving to and from and attending soccer and hockey games, because my husband is home to entertain all of these kids for me!
So, please, when doling out the homework load...please keep the poor, tired, weary, overwhelmed, stressed and somewhat braindead (speaking for myself anyway) parents in mind. We could use a break.
Sincerely,
Patrick's mom
Monday, October 4, 2010
QOTD-Patrick
While walking through Walmart with Patrick and Sean~
Me: I love spending time with both of you.
Patrick: Yeah, you're almost as fun as Auntie Lou.
Gee~thanks for letting me know.
Me: I love spending time with both of you.
Patrick: Yeah, you're almost as fun as Auntie Lou.
Gee~thanks for letting me know.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Audreyism of the Day
Before I started writing this blog I wrote all the memories I wanted to keep on my computer. I started the blog because I liked the idea of the layout and it seemed easier to keep organized. Unfortunately, I am not as funny of a writer as some of the writers of other blogs I read. I would love to get to that point some day.
What I do have (and I know I probably blog people to boredom writing about) are five kids who crack me up almost on a daily basis with the things they say. Sean's wit warranted his own special titles and I named his funny comments "Seanoisms of the Day". Audrey is the same, so I now have "Audreyisms of the Day". I still keep some things I want to remember on that separate journal, but thought I should share some of these "isms" because they can be so funny at times.
The other day while sitting in the dining room I heard Brendan yell from the hallway "mom, Audrey's writing on the wall with a green crayon". Followed very quickly after by Audrey in a whisper "shhhh, don't tell her something." I am in so much trouble with this girl!
What I do have (and I know I probably blog people to boredom writing about) are five kids who crack me up almost on a daily basis with the things they say. Sean's wit warranted his own special titles and I named his funny comments "Seanoisms of the Day". Audrey is the same, so I now have "Audreyisms of the Day". I still keep some things I want to remember on that separate journal, but thought I should share some of these "isms" because they can be so funny at times.
The other day while sitting in the dining room I heard Brendan yell from the hallway "mom, Audrey's writing on the wall with a green crayon". Followed very quickly after by Audrey in a whisper "shhhh, don't tell her something." I am in so much trouble with this girl!
Seano
Sean turns 8 today. He came into this world with a bang and has continued with an explosive personality ever since. He is funny, witty, sarcastic, wise, smart, emotional, animated, loving and sensitive. He is such a mixed bag and, although I could do without the sarcasm and animated outbursts for the most part, I love it all.
He was born four weeks early (although one of the nurses told me he was probably more like five weeks early) on a beautiful October day. He was 7 lbs., 13 oz. The dr. informed me that he would have been over 10 lbs. if he had been full term! We always joke with him that he was inside kicking and screaming "would someone get me out of here!" He is the same today~very demanding and impatient.
He doesn't miss a beat of anything that goes on around him. Recently I was talking with another mom at soccer about the craziness with all the activities, how parents go overboard pushing their kids and about how I feel most parents think their kids are going to get scholarships or even more if they have them on several teams. Sean was leaning on me at the time. We continued to talk about how we don't push ours and I told her how Sean chose not to play soccer this year, which was fine with us because he plays hockey (which is extremely demanding on the child and parents) and Caroline entered kindergarten this year which means that she was is now on the activity schedule as well.
A couple of days later Sean and I were alone together. He took this as an opportunity to hit me with a question he had, obviously, been thinking about for a couple of days. He had been listening very closely to my conversation the previous Saturday because he informed me that he does not like CCD and told me that, since his dad and I did not want to push them to do what they chose not to do, he did not want to go next year! Unfortunately, this is not an option!
Even with his demands and quick wit~he is so loving to his siblings, dad and I. He is so sensitive and completely in tune when it comes to the feelings of those around him. He loves to be hugged, snuggled and just to be close to his dad or I. We're happy to oblige.
He also loves to eat and eats almost anything I make. One of my favorite things to do is cook for him. He gets so excited and is so appreciative.
We always let them chose their meal on their birthday and an activity for us to do as a family. Today I'll be making him spaghetti and meatballs, pumkin pie for his "cake" and we're going bowling.
Happy birthday Seano~Daddy and I love you very much!
He was born four weeks early (although one of the nurses told me he was probably more like five weeks early) on a beautiful October day. He was 7 lbs., 13 oz. The dr. informed me that he would have been over 10 lbs. if he had been full term! We always joke with him that he was inside kicking and screaming "would someone get me out of here!" He is the same today~very demanding and impatient.
He doesn't miss a beat of anything that goes on around him. Recently I was talking with another mom at soccer about the craziness with all the activities, how parents go overboard pushing their kids and about how I feel most parents think their kids are going to get scholarships or even more if they have them on several teams. Sean was leaning on me at the time. We continued to talk about how we don't push ours and I told her how Sean chose not to play soccer this year, which was fine with us because he plays hockey (which is extremely demanding on the child and parents) and Caroline entered kindergarten this year which means that she was is now on the activity schedule as well.
A couple of days later Sean and I were alone together. He took this as an opportunity to hit me with a question he had, obviously, been thinking about for a couple of days. He had been listening very closely to my conversation the previous Saturday because he informed me that he does not like CCD and told me that, since his dad and I did not want to push them to do what they chose not to do, he did not want to go next year! Unfortunately, this is not an option!
Even with his demands and quick wit~he is so loving to his siblings, dad and I. He is so sensitive and completely in tune when it comes to the feelings of those around him. He loves to be hugged, snuggled and just to be close to his dad or I. We're happy to oblige.
He also loves to eat and eats almost anything I make. One of my favorite things to do is cook for him. He gets so excited and is so appreciative.
We always let them chose their meal on their birthday and an activity for us to do as a family. Today I'll be making him spaghetti and meatballs, pumkin pie for his "cake" and we're going bowling.
Happy birthday Seano~Daddy and I love you very much!
I Like Apple Picking!
We took the kids apple picking yesterday. It was such a beautiful fall day to go. We go every year~but our weekends have been very busy since September started and I was in a panic that this year we wouldn't be able to fit it in. To add to it~tomorrow is Sean's birthday and we always allow the birthday child to pick an activity that we can do on their birthday. He did not pick apple picking, so rush we did today after getting flu shots and getting in two soccer games.
We did it~by the skin of our teeth~we drove over an hour because most places were picked clean~to apple pick for about a half hour. Although we were rushed because we got there very late, it was worth it though because Audrey walked around the apple trees, following behind me, saying "I like apple picking, mommy" over and over. They all had a lot of fun~although I noticed Patrick became bored a bit quickly (too old for this family tradition??? I hope not.). The twins were really into it and it was so easy with them this year~as I'm finding most activities are now.
We also chose pumpkins~a little disappointing that the place we went too this year didn't have a pumpkin patch. The kids were excited all the same.
We had a great time and I'm glad we fit it in, even with all the rushing.
We did it~by the skin of our teeth~we drove over an hour because most places were picked clean~to apple pick for about a half hour. Although we were rushed because we got there very late, it was worth it though because Audrey walked around the apple trees, following behind me, saying "I like apple picking, mommy" over and over. They all had a lot of fun~although I noticed Patrick became bored a bit quickly (too old for this family tradition??? I hope not.). The twins were really into it and it was so easy with them this year~as I'm finding most activities are now.
We also chose pumpkins~a little disappointing that the place we went too this year didn't have a pumpkin patch. The kids were excited all the same.
We had a great time and I'm glad we fit it in, even with all the rushing.
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