Vacation 2012 - Sunday

Sunday I learned something beautiful about my children.  Something that may just alter the course of my life.  Something that makes me want to sell my house and move (my husband is doing a happy dance reading this).  When they are nestled in windowless, interior rooms they actually sleep past 7am.  They sleep until the glorious times of 8 and 8:30.  [Max slept later than that, but Max loves to sleep.]  I was delighted to see the sun shining in my windows and people already on the beach when my little guys woke me. 

We took our time getting ready, having some breakfast, and headed out to the beach.  It was wonderful.  The boys played on their own some and then Dave and I took turns playing with them while the other just sat.  Just sat.  Once more?  Okay, just.sat. 

Max hated the water. Not sure if it was the sound of the waves or just the enormity of it, but he was not a fan. However, sand did not bother him one bit. And there was nearly always an airplane or helicopter for Max to show us. Seth would stick his feet in the water but didn't want to go out much farther. Feet was progress and I was happy for it. Luke could get smacked in the face with a big wave, shake it off, and stand there ready for the next one. That's just Luke.

After the beach we walked back to the condo and decided to check out the pool. The pool water was miserably cold that day and we didn't even try to get Max to get in. The older two boys thought it was kind of fun and I was freezing, wishing we had just gone back up to eat lunch. Dave had called his mom from the beach to check on her. He got out of the pool and suddenly had a horrified look on his face. Didn't take me long to figure out he had just swam the length of the pool. With his phone in his pocket. UGH!

The pool from our balcony (the only pool pic I could find).

So, we got everyone lunched and settled in for some rest and then got ready to go to dinner. And buy rice for Dave's phone. I asked if it was too soon to suggest we have Chinese for dinner. Turns out it was maybe a little too soon. [wink]

We went to an outdoor mall-type of place called Broadway at the Beach. The boys LOVED feeding the fish and ducks and turtles.

 The first restaurant we tried was a 2 hour wait. Yikes! We ended up, rather accidentally, at Planet Hollywood. As a general rule I don't often let Luke eat anywhere that serves peanut butter sandwiches for the kids. However, it was late and I didn't really notice until we were seated. Seth is a great little reader and was looking at his menu and got so very excited about the prospect of a "real" peanut butter sandwich. [These are difficult dilemmas for me.] We explained to the server and she didn't think they were prepped in the same place so we let Seth have his peanut butter sandwich. All while I prayed and watched both boys like a psycho momma!

The restaurant was very loud and I think it was too much for Luke. He decided his tummy hurt (and actually pointed to his tummy and not his throat or arm), but he quickly recovered at the thought of going back to see the fish again so I decided that perhaps he was just overwhelmed.
 

More fish (and turtle and duck) feeding. 

Apparently, it was a big day for the older boys!  The drive back to the condo was about 20 minutes and neither of them were able to stay awake.  Max still naps so he was better at hanging in for the late night events. Oh, and Seth insists he did NOT fall asleep.  HA!

Vacation 2012 - the going

Somehow, it took us  months to decide on a vacation location.  Then we sort of decided and everytime we would find a house or condo we liked it would be rented within about 24 hours of our first looking at it.  So, we finally got the hint and jumped on a condo in Myrtle Beach - probably not either of our first choices for location, but sun, sand, and pool were the big requirements so we were pretty flexible. 

We booked the condo and had less than 2 weeks to anticipate the trip.  That sent ListMaking Cara into list making overdrive.  Oh, how I love a good list! 

The drive was supposed to be 12 hours and check in was between 3pm and 6pm on Saturday the 16th.  We figured we would leave Friday - eat lunch, leave around 2 and hope that Max napped in the car and the other two boys would just chill out and watch a movie or two.  Then we could stop for dinner and then drive a little farther, leaving us just a bit of a drive the next day.



It's not the best pic - but Max was dumping out all the goldfish he could get his hands on while I was attempting to pack totes of food, beach toys, etc.  Then there was a walk to the neighborhood pond to expend some energy.

Well, plans schmans.  Dave's mom had been staying with us, recuperating from an illness.  She went to the doctor Friday afternoon and got some unexpected test results which necessitated another doctor's appointment then some other decisions had to be made. 


We finally pulled out of our driveway at 7pm.  It was a very long day of packing, cleaning, entertaining boys who thought we should be leaving, and worrying about Dave and his mom.

We drove a few hours and stopped for a late and icky fast food dinner.  Then we got back into the car and, gloriously, everyone eventually fell asleep.  We drove awhile longer but were both pretty ehausted from our day so we stopped at a hotel, unloaded, and deposited everyone into a bed.  The pack and play was buried deep in the back of the van and it just wan't worth getting it out so Max and I attempted to sleep in a chaise lounge type of hotel chair in the room.  Ugh.

Saturday morning we set out to finish our adventure.  Apparently, and I'm not sure why it didn't occur to us, everyone checks in around the same time so the last few hundred miles were just bumper to bumper traffic heading into Myrtle Beach.  It was very slowgoing.

A little peek'boo to pass the time.

We finally arrived and found the place to pick up the keys to the condo.  It was after 6 when we arrived but thankfully they were still open.  We got the keys, drove to the condo, and started unloading all of our stuff.

The condo was fine - not the nicest or newest accomocations, but you could see and hear the ocean from our balcony (out the front room door and our bedroom door).  Plus, the beach was just outside the door (well, down the elevator and out the door).  

We did a little unpacking and settling and then headed to walmart for groceries and other items we didn't want to pack (diapers for Max, sunscreen, etc.).  Again, not sure why it didn't occur to me, but Walmart was a mad house.  Insanity.  People everywhere.  We were probably at least 5th in our line and I think most aisles were open for check out.  The boys were tired, Dave and I were tired, and I really could've cried right there.

Thankfully, we survived and made it back to the condo nearly fully stocked for the week.  Ahhh....

 

Then we all collapsed into bed!  Well, Max took some coaxing, but eventually we all collapsed!

Summer Break 2012 - crossing things off

Last week we crossed a couple of items off of our list.  [I'm going to have to pick up the pace for sure if we're going to finish the list!]  There was an absolutely beautiful mid-70's and sunny kind of day and we jumped on the fabulousness of it and headed to the zoo.   My parents give us a zoo membership each Christmas and we really love the flexibility of it - no guilt in only staying for an hour or two when you can come back anytime you want.  However, this was definitely not a short trip.  I have to say that this trip was fantastic!  I packed a backpack - and it had lots of room leftover!  A definite perk of the boys getting older is being able to travel a little lighter.  It makes spontaneity more do-able and not so "oh no, what did I forget?" scary.

The other really great part of this trip was that Seth really wanted to watch the animals.  Normally he walks up, says, "Oh, there's the lion.  Let's go."  And off we go.  But, this time he could read the signs and really wanted to watch the animals.  I think he would've spent an hour watching the otters get in and out of their little pool.   It was a really fun time.  I might have to take something else off of the list and "Zoo" again. 

To me this sily picture screams, "Yo! We're at the zoo."

If you know me, you know this wasn't the highlight of the trip for me, but they have two new aviaries, one with more 'domestic' birds and one with more exotic birds.  I think.  We walked by and I kindly pointed them out.  We did NOT go in. 

To me, these nasty bats and the birds are pretty much on par.  However, Seth was telling me about a show and tell at school where a classmate brought a hairless cat.  I was ready to go on and on about how gross that must have been when Seth just calmly looked at me and answered my 'was it hideously ugly' question with, "Well, that IS the way God make it."  Okay, got me there.  So I really do try to remember that God made all of these creatures, so it's not my place to discuss how gross some of them are.

The train ride is always a highlight of the trip.  You really don't see much but you are ON the train!

Max sits with Mommy on the train.  I love how he is so sweetly holding my hand (and looking up at me).  He is just a really sweet little guy.  He loves the 'choo choo.'

I really thought these were his sunglasses, but looking at this picture, maybe I'm wrong?

As much as I don't like birds, I do like tigers.  Not sure why.  They are just big and beautiful.  The zoo has a newer setup where you can get really close to the tigers.  Yes, it is very thick glass.  We have visited a few times since they updated this exhibit, but the tigers are never very social.  This day, they were pacing back and forth right in front of the glass.  It was pretty awesome to see. 

Yes, that is Max in his stroller nearly looking the tiger in the eyes.  He wasn't even bothered by it.  Not knowing that the tiger could really hurt you is probably a good thing, huh?  Max noticed a lot more of the animals this trip.  He would wave his sweet little wave and yell, "Hi, Buddy!" 

 It was definitely one of my favorite zoo trips!  Here's to hoping the rest of our summer list provides for some equally fun memories!

Later that week we were also able to mark "Dunkin Donuts" off the list.  Friday, June 1st was National Donut Day.  They gave away a free donut with a drink purchase.  So, after Luke's tumbling class we all had donuts for lunch.  Then the boys had nuggets for dessert.  Some days you have to mix it up!  NO idea who that fourth donut belongs to.  You know, the one with the coffee.  Hmmm....

Summer break - the list

There's a show that my boys love to watch and the theme song starts out, "There's a hundred and four days of summer vacation, then school comes along just to end it..."

So, I decided to count how many days there are for my boys.  They will be on a 'balanced' schedule next year which means they go back really early but get two whole weeks in the fall and two whole weeks in the spring.  That leaves us only 76 days of summer vacation, including the weekends!

I must admit that I never feel like I spend enough time with the boys.  Even being home with them, I feel like I am always doing something else and we aren't really making "enough" memories together.  Oddly, I'm not even sure I know what that means.  Or what I can do that will change that feeling for me. 


I don't think enough people are honest enough about what it's like to be at home.  I ran into someone recently that I hadn't talked to for years and told him I was a stay at home mom to three boys, almost 2, 4, and 6, and he said, "well, I guess that's great for you."  And I fake smiled and nodded like a crazy woman, because I think that's what people expect. 

And yes, it is great for me.  There is NOWHERE I would rather be.  My two youngest boys can be playing just fine in the other room and all of a sudden one of them comes running to me and just needs a hug.  I give that huge hug and he runs back to play.  Knowing that he needed that hug and I was the one who got to give it to him, is an awesome reminder of how blessed I am to be at home.

On the other hand, I have threatened to revamp my wardrobe to include only black and white striped  shirts and grab a whistle because I often feel more like a referree than a love giving momma.  Then there's the begging and groveling that I do when it's time to pick up toys.  That usually ends in a lot of yelling and threatening on my part.

Of course, I'd love to be paid for the hard work that I do.  Even appreciated, or respected.  I have a (newer to me) phrase lately - "respect the clean!"  Meaning, if I go to the trouble to actually clean it, could it please stay that way for more than 4.3 seconds?  There's not much motivation to scrub the bathroom sink when the very next time the boys brush their teeth there's more toothpaste visible than sink. 

I found this blog article recently and the comparison to having a career and being a stay at home mom made me chuckle.

Hmmm, I think I digressed a bit.  All this was to say that the boys and I made a list of things we want to do this summer.  For me, if it's written down it's more likely to happen.   Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone with just a list so I made it into a little poster. 

So, watch for updates on how we spend our days.  And if you have any great suggestions for things we should do, please send them my way. 
Happy summer to all....

Overheard, the mom edition...

Summer break means more quality time for all of us together.  It's a little bit of an adjustment for the boys to all be together so much.  Max is used to Seth being gone when he gets up.  Luke is used to alone time with me while Max sleeps and Seth is at school.  It's not bad.  It's just different and a little bit of an adjustment! 

With this adjustment I am finding that I am shocked by some of the things that I am forced to say:

• Please do NOT stand on your brother's head like that!
• WHY were you licking your toes?
• Hey!  We don't pee in the TRASH can. [Particularly not when it's a foot from the toilet!]

Graduation!

Sorry, if you are on facebook this is a repeat, but...

My first baby is now a kindergarten graduate! As each one came up to get their diplomas we got to hear their answers to four questions. Here are Seth's:

My favorite food is peanut butter and crackers.
My favorite Bible story is when Jesus rose from the dead.
When I grow up I want to be a doctor who works at the hospital.
What I liked best about kindergarten is reading group. I love to read!

So proud of my sweet boy!

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Graduation was very cute.  The kiddos all had caps and gowns and entered to "Pomp and Circumstance."  Then they were presented their diplomas.  It was fun to hear all of the students' responses to the same four questions.  Many of the 'what I liked best' answers were "recess."  I was pretty proud of my boy for picking reading as his answer.  And he does LOVE to read, which makes me very excited as a mommy who loves to read. 


Then there was the slide show portion.  Sweet little tear invoking songs and pictures of Seth and his friends.  I did tear up at one point.  Thankfully, I had been warned, which usually makes me cry less.  And, thankfully (?), I had Max and Luke crawling and climbing everywhere to distract me. 

During the slide show they stripped them of their caps and gowns.  This was disappointing to me because I didn't take any posed pictures before, thinking I would get some after.  But, they were rented so I guess the easiest way to be sure they got them all back was to collect them mid-ceremony!

After the slide show, both classes came up and sang some sweet songs. 

And then they were done.  There was a nice packet to pick up that included the diploma, report card, some awards, and a new little Bible, a framed picture of his entire class and a graduation balloon.   

Seth's kindergarten teacher, her assistant, and his preschool teacher. We adore all of them!

And finally, we celebrated at home with ice cream!  My Seth is a lot like me in that he doesn't love change.  He likes to keep things exactly how he likes them.  He shed some tears the day before school ended, knowing that he wouldn't see his friends or his classmates for awhile.  Some of the students will not be back next year and I'm not sure he realizes that.  There were only 17 in his class (there was a second kindergarten class), so they were all pretty close.  He's adjusting to summer break, but I truly think he would go to school all year if he could!  Not sure what that says about my parenting, but I'm so thankful that he loves school.