Back to the grind...

We got home from vacation on Sunday.   Aside from rain and some stomach issues we really had a good one...REALLY we did.   It was as usual much too short but the house was great, the pool was great, and the beach even better (minus the itsy bitsy jelly fish the first 2 days)   Nolan was not quite as eager to hit up the beach as I was hoping...and I really wasn't expecting one way or another.   In fact the kid is usually so go with the flow (unless we are talking sleeping all night or eating) that I do expect from time to time for him to have some "wait just a darn minute" moments.  So fair enough he wasn't as into sand all over his body and water that moved as I had hoped but he napped like a champ on the beach and by the end of the week was enjoying it more.  
We ate the best fish tacos ever--granted I don't eat fish very often and I don't think think I have ever actually eaten fish tacos...but these were really really good.   So good we got them twice and had they been open a 3rd as it was our last stop on the way off the island.   We made a pit stop on the way down at Silver Springs which used to be an amusement park of sorts with animal exhibits and boat rides...it's somewhat sad to see how run down it is now because the springs are so incredible we were really in awe.   We knew ahead a time thanks to various reviews online that everything except the boat ride was gone so we just stopped to explore the springs and check out what was left...definitely worth the stop!  Robert and I both were dying to be in kayak's cruising around, absolutely gorgeous.   So on the way home we decided to stop and check out another spring site,  Juniper Springs...this one you are allowed to swim.   The water stays at 72 degrees so it's quite chilly but the boys all got in and spent some energy for the trek home!   I wish we had more time to spend there exploring and checking things out.   I certainly have a curiosity to explore and discover new areas and I especially love some that are a little "off the beaten path".   Next time you are on your way south take the time to stop at one of the springs they really are worth the stop!
So now it's back to reality and the boys are back to school in 12 days...and one minute it's a good thing and the next I am thinking it's not.   We all need a break from each other for sure but gosh our summers are short!   Nolan will certainly be missing them during the day.   I am just floored by how quickly the year has gone by....I know I say it all the time but as I am putting August on the calendar and knowing that the next months will get here just as quickly it's is just baffling.   In just 3 1/2 months Nolan will be 2 and in 6 months I will have another double digit kiddo in the house.  Time certainly flies and it seems to fly faster the older I get.
And with that a few pictures from the first part of the trip!

Wait, What.

As I was putting Nolan down for a nap today I read one of my favorite bloggers most recent blog on parenting and it got me thinking on my own parenting ideas and wisdoms.   My plan was to finish putting him down for a nap, fix the big boys and I lunch, swap some laundry, and come blog about my thoughts on said parenting wisdoms.   However my mom called halfway thru lunch preparations and we talked until Nolan woke up and there went my blogging chance.  The rest of the day has been dealing with a very whiney demanding going on 2 year old (WHAT!?) and has ended with 3 fighting big brothers.  So my parenting wisdom isn't feeling very wisdom-ey other than I have the wisdom to cancel extra bedtime reading time and instead lights out everyone.right.now.  Mommy needs a beer and some quiet time.  Whew today, while not really all that terrible, has drained me.
Nolan for some reason is going thru quite a whiney screechy "I need this NOW" phase and I am not a fan.   I love that he is finding his voice and finding his words but I will be glad when he finds a little bit of his patience and his manners.   Something we all could work on but he REALLY needs the most work on that one.
On the flip side vacation is happening very soon and the big boy arguing is typically short lived and if I haven't learned anything else in my 11+ years of parenting the one thing I do know is every phase does end and happy times return.  

Hold on to your hats...

I always think to sit down and post a few pictures but then realize all my pictures are still sitting on the cameras and realize getting pictures posted will take more time that I had planned....sometimes I can squeeze in the time and sometimes not.   I am also not sure where to start!  When you go weeks...months without posting it is a bit daunting to "catch up" so I usually don't and just post some recent pictures---but that sends us back to the original "problem" they are on the camera.   Fortunately today I have some extra motivation to get cameras "cleaned up" and ready for vacation!   So today you get pictures!

Twelve on Tuesday.

1.  I hate that these are the only posts I seem to write lately.   I know this is just a "phase" and will pass eventually...I hope!

2.   We are going on vacation very VERY soon and I am READy.  All of us are!

3.  I am working on editing some pictures I took for a neighbor the other day, I gotta say this part of the picture taking process makes me really dislike the picture taking action.   It's really a pretty quick deal but I am so out of practice that it's just not quick these days.  PLUS the only time I can do it is at night so that makes it take even longer...because my night is pretty much the part of day that I am basically worthless.

4.  Jakeb tried out for swim team today at a local place and made team and I am super duper proud of him.   He starts in August and wishes it was sooner.   I am seriously borderline obsessed with his new swimming "career" and probably a little jealous.   He rocks it in the water and I am so thrilled for him that he has found something that (at least for now) he loves doing AND is good at it.

5.  Did I mention vacation?

6.  We had our home visit again yesterday...it was the 2nd and should be the last before we are approved as a open foster home.  Could be 3 weeks could be 6...either way EEK.  I am getting nervous about the whole thing...the process...the system...all of it.

7.  Nolan's newest word is "huh?"....it was cute for the first day or so.  Now he says it every time I speak to him all.day.long.  Makes me a wee bit nuts but also makes me laugh.

8.  Zachary apparently has decided to point out all of my bad characteristics but taking them on as his own.   Those super critical sound comments I say but don't really mean to sound like a bitch...yep he is saying them.   That smart ass comment I said joking around...yep he is doing it.  Apparently Zman is my mini mean personality wise, thanks dude for magnifying all my flaws.   At the same time the kid is F.U.N. with a capital F.

9.  V.A.C.A.T.I.O.N

10.  The boys go back to school in just a little over 3 weeks....the summer has yet again FLOWN by, I am not ready for them to go back but I never am.  The routine is always nice but getting up at 6 is not and I really do enjoy their company.

11.   Our poor Bailey dog is miserable with his ears again and we are terrible doggie owners for letting it get bad again...we have one dog with ear issues, one with a busted knee, and a cat that has injuries from some sort of animal bite.   We are golden here with the pet care taking...oy.   I will give us props for having them all fixed and up to date on the important shots and flea meds.  

12.  Gavin is turning into our fact man....he can tell you random facts about all sorts of things...he loves reading animal fact books and the stuff he remembers from them or things people have told him amaze me.  He's a cool little guy.

Summatime

It's summer and we are thoroughly enjoying it.   I honestly was expecting a bit more crazy and chaos but so far things have been darn great.   I always long for summer and the relaxed schedule and then it seems that it turns out to be anything but that.   But this year seems different and in fact just that.   Maybe my attitude has relaxed a bit...because while there are certainly chaotic times I have learned to roll with it a bit better than in the past.  In the past freak out Rachel would emerge and we would all be OH.MY.GOD.WE.ARE.LATE!!?!?!   Now thanks to better planning and better chill the crap out skills we are able to avoid panic Rachel on most outings.   It's all about attitude and perspective folks.   

Currently Nolan is sleeping, Zachary is at a friends, Jakeb and Gavin are upstairs playing, and I am sitting here eating corn dogs and drinking lemonade.  Health food for the win!   We are trying to avoid chick fila and much worse foods than oven cooked corn dogs so 2 corn dogs for lunch works for me...for now.   I am learning that baby steps towards a goal are better than nothing.  So for now convenience food at home is working better than trying to be all "I KNOW!   Let's buy a bazillion fresh produce items and I am going to whip up a fancy salad and home made mac n cheese and fresh squeezed lemonade!"  Because 2 weeks later when all of the food is rotted in my fridge and we have spent $75 on lunch at restaurants we really aren't getting anywhere now our we?   So realistic baby steps....corn dogs at home...garbage pizza and chicken nuggets at home...are at least a little better than a fast food joint and are certainly cheaper.  We also do PB&J (on wheat!) ham and cheese (on Hawaiian!) chicken salad (from the farmers market I certainly don't make it...and also on Hawaiian) lots of yogurt and our beloved smoothies.  SO now that we have established that...you still won't find pop tarts and little debbie snacks here.  And these are all beef corn dogs and darn good at that.   My goal is to break the habit of eating out...get used to eating at home and then work on changing how we eat at home.   One step at a time my friends.  

We are leaving for vacation in a couple weeks and I seriously cannot wait.  Cannot wait to be kicked back in a beach chair watching my babies romp in the water and roll in the sand.   We all love, love the beach and can be there all.day.long.   

Gavin has recovered amazingly well from his surgery and we are so glad to have that behind us.   Can't believe we are nearly at July the summer is trucking right on by, crazy!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Twelve on Tuesday

1.  Pretty sure I am trying to get a cold....I would say I have one but let's not go there just yet.  

2.  Thus far I have really enjoyed our summer break...we have gotten into a bit of a routine in our days and it's going well.   The boys are playing far more video games than I would like but you know...

3.  Zachary would sit in front of a screen of some sort ALL.DAY.LONG.  

4.  Nolan is now closer to 2 than 1 and that's insane.  He is starting to talk so very much more and while he is STILL not.sleeping.thru.the.night he is better and napping consistently at least 1-2 hrs daily.  

5.   I am not sure how I missed getting pictures of the boys for their birthday but I did....I am slowly trying to get "caught" up with that.   Oops.  

6.  I have a handful of projects waiting on me to finish...or rather START them and I finally am feeling like I could actually do that.   I hate starting things I can't finish so consequently I haven't started a great many things.   Just going thru the motions of keeping up with the kids and the house and the dogs and the cats....and wash, rinse, repeat.

7.  We have had some serious rain lately....it certainly hasn't helped my grass situation or rather lack there of but it's nice to not have to remember to water my planters...which means I in fact have flowers still living in the planters!   Go rain and go me.

8.  I ventured into the attic yesterday and felt brave enough to cross the beams and grab the box I needed...I had Zachary with me for emotional support and stability.   I have a history of stepping thru the ceiling so I am basically afraid of the attic.   BUT I got the box and there are no holes in the attic floor.

9.  The box I needed was a box of random clothes I had kept from the boys toddler days...apparently I felt the need to keep all of the shoes they owned and should have never purchased a single pair for Nolan in size 6 because I am pretty sure he now has about 20 pairs of shoes, with the old combined with the new.

10.  Zachary and Jakeb are doing swim this week...seriously loving watching them in the pool.   We will get Gavin started up once he is feeling better!

11.   He has been a trooper...the pain meds they gave are straight up nasty so he refused to take them much past the 2nd day.  He's been relying on Tylenol and today and yesterday didn't have anything at all.  So he's feeling better for sure.  I know we are ready to get back up to speed.  

12.   So glad we have the surgery behind us and we are week into the recovery.  I am really hoping the tonsils being gone helps with his immune system this next school year....I am also wondering if those big golf balls being out of his throat will help with his speech some.  He still struggles with his "R's"

Twelve on Tuesday.

1.  Gbabes had his tonsils out yesterday....he is so far doing AMAZING.   Currently upstairs playing with his brothers like no big deal.   He is so awesome.

2.  I am feeling antsy....I get this way from time to time and especially in the summer.  Ready for a trip or a change of scenery or something to break up the days.  

3.  Often when I get like this I rearrange furniture but can't for the life of me figure out what to move.  Everything is as it should be for now.   Or just too darn hard to move.   I do "need" to shift things around in Nolan's room a bit but worry that will mess up his "routine".  

4.  I have emailed again about the foster care home study and what not....haven't heard a word back.  ANNOYING?  Yes.  So much for the urgency of good foster homes....oy.

5.  Jakeb has been taking swim lessons trying to move towards being on a swim team...he is doing awesome and we seriously love watching him swim.

6.   Our summer so far has been pretty low key and not overly stressful.

7.  Despite #6 I have felt moderately stressed lately...in a mood of sorts I guess....probably relates to #2.

8.  The grass seed I planted in the spring has called it quits...the entire front yard is brown.  Nice.   However the back yard is growing like wild fire and looks great.

9.  We hit up the library a couple weeks ago...full intentions to do the summer reading program...that fizzled out after about 2 days.  I will keep trying to encourage it though!   They are all 3 good little readers...but video games seem to keep winning if I let them.

10.  Nolan has finally found a love for books and is wanting to be read to more frequently.

11.  We are planning on hitting up the beach sometime in July.

12.  July is not soon enough!

Eighteen

Hard to believe that Nolan is well over a year old!  At 18 months he is a busy busy boy.   He is currently sitting next to me at the kitchen table in a big chair coloring all over my "summer notebook" and chattering away at me.   I am letting him because he is happy and not destroying something or making a mess.   He has a chocolate covered face from his Nutella bread he had for breakfast.  Chocolate is a good breakfast...I think it has some protein right?   

At 18 months we follow him around stopping him from doing the same things every single day.  He things my computer mouse is his toy....the kitchen table is for climbing on...the lego's and rocks for eating...the dog water is for splashing in...my bathroom drawers are his toy box.   Basically he's a pretty typical 18 month old.   He is rocking 13 teeth and is saying so many words now I have lost count.  He is starting to put 2 and 3 words together like "Mommy watch" "Mommy help"  "Mommy get it" Most of his words only I understand at this point like "gogo" = yogurt.   "Baba"=water/cup/milk/bottle  but a few he says quite clearly like "Ow" "Mommy" "Daddy" "goggles" "shoes" to name a few.  He seems to understand everything we say to him and sometimes listens and most times not.  

He has learned how to make us laugh and does so with intention daily.   He cracks us up and at 18 months we are all still pretty obsessed with him.   We are still working on hitting and throwing things...he has quite a little temper!  He still has rocking hair and brown eyes...still quite a peanut.   Obsessed with shoes and loves putting his little crocs on by himself.   He is still a huge fan of his paci and is starting to carry around, request, and sleep with his little monster or puppy "snuggly".  He is a ball of energy and happy and moody and love.  

At 18 months he is at a fun and trying age and we are enjoying every second.  

Twelve on Tuesday.

1.   We are 2 days into our first full week of Summer Break and are just rolling with it....we have Gavin's tonsillectomy on June 10th so we are trying to squeeze in a few fun days before then.

2.  I am desperately trying to get "caught up" on laundry...which is a joke really BUT I have a laundry "schedule" I try to stick to and it's all out of whack so right now I am just trying to get back to that.   Almost there.

3.  The end of the school year went well the boys racked up awards and had a blast at their end of the year parties.   Room mom's are in charge of planning and coordinating those just about 100% so knocking those out was a sigh of relief.  Glad to help with them though and the kids always have a blast.

4.  I am letting things roll as they do with our foster care licensing right now.   I have a lessened since of urgency with all of that lately so I am just letting things happen when they do for now.  

5.  Robert and I however are dying to get to the beach so we are hoping we get that worked out asap!

6.  The boys are working on rocking out their library book reading for the summer....hopefully we can stick with that!

7.   Jakeb and Zachary had their first piano recitals this past weekend...Robert and I couldn't have been more proud of them.   They did fantastic.

8.   They were both incredibly nervous but pushed thru and did it and just for that alone we were beaming...but they also played marvelously.   Awesome dudes.

9.  Gavin received 2 medals in his awards at the end of the school year...Mr. grumpy woke up that day saying there was no reason for him to go since he wasn't getting any awards anyway...stinker butt earned a citizenship and PE award!  

10.  And not to leave out the baby...He was amazing for the last days of school and hanging out at the school all day.   He seriously was fantastic all day.

11.  Hoping summer is smooth sailing this year....

12.  Trying to sit down and knock out a few computer "jobs" tonight...this is one of them!  Done and done!

Countdown...

We are in the final 5...4..days of school and I am seriously not believing how quickly this past year has gone!   (Side bar:  There are 2 babies sleeping in this house right now and the neighbors dog is yelping like no other and I may lose my mind....)   I will have a 2nd, 4th, and 6th grader very soon and that is amazing and baffling and I would say sad {that they are getting older}...but it's not.   I am proud of them and so happy to see them growing up and doing so well.   The idea of them not getting older is preposterous and while I certainly love my babies and from time to time DO miss little baby Jakeb, Zachary, and Gavin...I also love watching them grow and learn and change.  I don't tend to get caught up in the sentiments of not wanting them to get older...I really enjoy each stage and age.  Of course this is not assuming that other parents do not, I just don't get all weepy about it.  Granted I don't get all weepy about much.   (Oh.my.goodness.  Barking dogs are the worst)  I love looking back at their pictures and reminiscing about this or that and certainly miss their little toddler voices and toddler curiosity because while toddler hood is quite trying it is also my favorite (really they are all my favorite...).    They are learning and discovering so very much and as Nolan is stepping in to full fledge toddler hood I am remembering all the reasons why I say it's my favorite.  The curious glances, the hesitant pause right before they try something new. The new words.  This morning he said flower (fower) and yogurt (gogo)  and yesterday he said Ellie (eddyeee) and Glasses (gackes) and bottle (bobble) and every day lately it's so many new words that we are losing count.   Watching the kids grow and learn and discover is just really my favorite no matter what age.  And as the school year is coming to and end and we are passing over into new ages and stages I just can't help but be proud of them and the people they are and are becoming.  And also a doing a little {big} happy dance because I can slide the little button on my phone that says "alarm: 6:01 am" over to OFF.    And I can pretend we will have fun days of lounging by the pool and relaxing in the house watching TV or reading or playing happily together...taking happy hand holding walks at the park or trips to the zoo where we marvel at every animal....Hahahaha...one can dream.

SEVEN.

Oh um hi....so Gavin my blonde boy turned 7 a little under 2 weeks ago now.   He's our last of the "birthday extravaganza" that has become our spring months.   All the big boys birthdays are within 6 weeks or so of each other so we are partied out by May 2nd.
Gavin my boy is seven and very stoked to be SEVEN.   At 7 Gavin is in first grade and doing wonderfully.  He is seriously loved by everyone.   He is friendly and happy and very thoughtful.  He likes to open doors or pick things up for people and just generally be a nice guy....at least most of the time.  It helps too that he's super cute :)   He still has mornings where he wakes up and seems to have left his body and has been replaced with a mean hateful person...but usually a quick bite to eat and he snaps out of it.   At 7 Gavin is reading amazingly well and is quite a little math whiz.   Gone are the days of his perfect penmanship but he still has to have a great many things just so....he is still very much our dramatic one.   Sometimes this makes us giggle and sometimes..not so much.  He is a love 100%.   In the past couple months his personality has emerged even more and his confidence seems to have sky rocketed.  He is chatty and friendly with so many people.  No longer hiding behind my legs he seems to rarely meet a stranger these days.   He is still ever so bouncy and also dancing and singing and just being silly.  Even his teacher has noticed this at school and commented on it the other day.   He is still very well behaved at school and prides himself on this quite a lot!  He has lost 4 teeth and wiggling out the next...he finally mastered the bicycle with no training wheels...by basically hopping on it and riding it.   He is playing baseball and seems to be enjoying it very much.  We are certainly loving watching him play...his coach has him playing "pitcher" where he spins and sings and dances and practices his next play and/or swing and every once in a while throws a kid out at first.    
He is snuggly and cuddly and loves to hug.  He is smart and silly and funny and bossy and chatty and kind and demanding and handsome and thoughtful.   Gavin is a wonderful happy boy!  Happy 7th Birthday Gavy Gav!