Monday, August 25, 2008

First Day of Kindergarten




Today I sent my baby off to kindergarten. I couldn't decide whether to cry or giggle uncontrollably - so I just stared blankly at the school doors after walking her inside. What did I do with my four hours of complete, independent freedom? First things first, I went to lunch at the Paradise Bakery with my mom. (I must say that their crumbly blue cheese salad IS paradise!) Then it was off to Costco with no children in tow, and after putting away the groceries I took a nap. Yes, let me repeat that, I TOOK A NAP!! I did all of that while Kaitlyn was in kindergarten. No wonder I wanted to giggle uncontrollably - it's been 10 years since I've had that kind of freedom. I woke up from my nap as the bus was driving around the neighborhood dropping off children from school. I ran to the front porch and waited anxiously for Kaitlyn. I saw her come around the corner holding hands with her big sister in that cute little uniform, and what did I do? I started to cry.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Enough with the Chaos already!

School starts this week. I'm torn because I love being with my kids during the summer. NOTHING beats the combination of sunshine, laziness & giggling. But I can only handle the chaos summer brings for so long. Do you know what I mean? I started out the summer so organized with chore charts, summer homework and clipboards. About 3 weeks into it is when I feel myself submitting to the craziness - telling myself to just enjoy these summer moments and to go with the flow. For the "Type A" person that I am, it takes enormous mental effort to just go with the flow. Pretty sad, but still true. So by the end of the summer when absolutely everything that can possible be messy and cluttered in my house is now messy and cluttered I begin to worry a tad bit about my sanity. Seriously, I can barely make my way through my kids rooms, the playroom, and the garage. So I'm doing my best to not be running around like a crazy woman shouting, "enough with the chaos already!" I keep reminding myself that in a few weeks I will have the time to clean, organize, and straighten, and it honestly isn't going to kill me if I just let it go for now. Sometimes I just have a hard time believing. So I'm going to take a deep breath and keep trying to go with the flow.

Friday, August 15, 2008

The Most Miserable Joy

Okay, so Kassidy turned 10 years old this week and will be going into 5th grade. This is really freaking me out!!! I VIVIDLY remember 5th grade - I honestly thought that I was so old, and now that's how old my little girl is. Yesterday she came to me with tears in her eyes and she said, "Mom, I just feel so sad today and I don't know why." I almost said, welcome to the emotions of womanhood honey. But instead I just hugged her and we talked about it.

To celebrate her birthday, Kassidy and I took a special trip to Chicago. Yes, I'm a little crazy with the birthday thing, but I so wanted to take her to the American Girl Place and I knew that her interest in American Girl dolls wasn't going to last forever. So I spent 4 days just hanging out with my little Kassidy. We shopped (boy did we ever shop), we got room service, we ate tons of pancakes and pizza, and yes - we spent countless hours in the American Doll Place. She's my first, the one that taught me how amazing motherhood could be. Also, the one who offered me her unconditional love as I figured out what type of mother I wanted to be. I never knew that I would love being a mom this much, that I would love these three little people in a way that I could never have imagined. As I watch Kassidy grow (and Caleb & Kaitlyn), I feel like my heart is going to burst with pride, love, and sadness because it is going so quickly. As my mom says, it's, "the most miserable joy". It truly is.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Why the Rockin Ricks?

My cute children love to name things: their stuffed animals, paper towels (no kidding), and our cars. So I thought it was pretty cute when one day this summer, Caleb decided that we should be called the rockin ricks. All three kids agreed that was the perfect name for our family and I just had to grin. After all, I always holler "rock -n- roll, let's go!" when it's time for the kids to hop into the lovely family minivan (which is named "Princess" by the way). We listen to "We Will Rock You" at the start of any family adventure, such a trip to the lake or a museum. And ultimately, they've been subjected to many fine musical artitists such as ABBA, Queen, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and yes even some AC/DC since birth. In fact, when Kaitlyn was 2 years old, she and I were driving around town and I turned on a country radio station. She immediately hollered, "No Mommy! I want Rock -n- Roll!" That's my girl! So the rockin ricks has stuck, for the summer at least. I hope it's here to stay, because it will always remind me of their sweet innocence!