John David, enjoying a birthday cupcake

This summer my baby, John David, turned FOUR. He was quite pleased with himself.

Was I sad that my last baby is not so much a baby anymore? Well, no, not really because I have babied the stew out of him. Basically, he still looks like a baby to me, so it hasn’t hit me yet.

It was completely different when my oldest child, 7 years ago, turned 4 years old.

I wasn’t the least bit sad. I was ecstatic!! For some reason, I saw 4 as this magical hump of parenting where Joshua was going to magically be a big kid.

The push was on. Joshua was constantly pushed towards independence and accomplishments. Soccer team started at age 3. T-ball started the minute he was old enough to participate. He was drilled on academics constantly, and we read him about 15 books/day, not even exaggerating.

I would say things to him like, “Joshua, watch Caleb for a minute while I go in yonder. You’re in charge.”

Even at the time, I knew Joshua wasn’t able to help me with Caleb much. That’s just what I said, and yet, he did seem to actually help with Caleb (who is only 20 months younger than Joshua).

When Joshua would want to be carried or babied, I didn’t understand at all. Wasn’t he supposed to be more grown up? He was my biggest, my oldest, and I had little patience for much shenanigans. Walk child, walk.

Well, you may be feeling sorry for that first-born 4-year-old, and I do too in hindsight, but don’t spend too much time on it.

He’s doing swell. He is now the kind of pre-teen who is confident enough to go into the gas station, escorting a little brother, and pick out a drink and pay for it. When we lived on base, he could even ride his bike to the mini-mart, buy bread for me, and bring it home.

He can make his own meals, so long as it just involves the microwave or an apple core-er, and he can fix his brothers’ meals too.

It is pretty awesome to have that (sometimes) responsible, independent oldest son. Plus, he looks about 13, so no one ever questions his competence level to do these things. It’s working out well so far– no permanent damage done, hopefully.

And John David is sort of the opposite…..

I don’t push at all. Nope not at all. I still put his socks and shoes on him, “wipe him up”, and he never has to “keep his brother out of trouble” because he has no little brother.

He is my little velcro to the side of my leg, and I eat it up. And he eats it up. No one seems to question the fact that this is my giant baby.

But you know what? He’s going to be fine too. I’m sure of it.

He can put his shoes on himself when he wants to, and he wipes before I wipe. Mostly, I’ve let him lead on these steps—except I did have to resort to bribery “rewards” for the wiping.

Don’t despair. This 4-year-old has many talents too.

John David is a fast learner. He can color for hours without getting tired of it. JD knows all of his letters and the sounds they make. Oh! And he loves helping me with chores!! You gotta love that!!!

Yes, I’ve babied him, but I’m hoping all will turn out well. He does know about love, discipline, and consequences. He’s super sweet and is always doing kind things for his momma.

In fact, he often prays at night, “Thank you for Mom. Thank you for Mom. Thank you for Mom.”

I’m such a sucker for that.

John David still often cuddles up in my lap and sleeps. I love it. I’m holding on to that as long as I can.

Pre-School

A few weeks ago, John David started K4. He was hesitant, but he went. Then they started morning drop-off for the 4-year-olds.

I pulled up to the curb where 2 pre-school teachers, and thankfully JD knows both of them, were standing to assist the 4-year-olds in getting out of their car and into the building. John David didn’t fully grasp what was going on, so he got out. They walked him to the building, and he had to walk to his classroom by himself.

The next day I pulled back up to the curb, and John David quickly entered panic-mode.

“What! No, Mom, you walk me in. You walk me in. You walk me in.” John David repeated over and over as he backed away into a corner as far as could get from the teachers and the open van door.

Time to throw in the proverbial towel.

“Got it. Ok. I got it. I’ll walk him in. I’ll walk him in. JD, sit back down in your seat, and we’ll park, and I’ll walk you in.”

I asked John David later on if he had been scared walking to class by himself that day. He looked at me with the most pitiful face, and with a shaky little voice, nodded and whispered, “I almost cried.”

Well, that did it for me. I decided right then and there that this child will be personally escorted to his K-4 classroom every single day until he asks me himself to do otherwise!!

See how clingy he is? Bless.

Yes, we carried him around in Washington, D.C. too.

I promise we carried our other 4-year-olds around a little bit too.

When Joshua was 4, and Caleb was 2. Joshua didn’t get carried as much since we had to carry the 35 pound 2-year-old… (Washington, D.C., 2010)

When Caleb was 4, and Daniel was around 6 months

Yes, we are more relaxed with our youngest child, but not more lenient. I think we might even be more strict, just less worried about him doing what he’s “supposed to do”. As long as he’s obeying and being respectful, we’re good, and that’s a work in progress for ALL of us.

Okay. Well, we do let him sit on the table to paint and build Lego creations, so maybe we are more lenient in all areas except the ones above, which we deem as most important.

And yes, we bought him 5 Batman t-shirts and let him wear only Batman shirts every single day for a YEAR……

Is that so bad? Nah. I’m going with no.

Four is an awesome age. We are so lucky to get to do it one more time!

P.S. The year of Batman is over. He has informed us that he wants no more Batman toys, books, or shirts. He only wants Ninjago stuff now, because all obsessive people occasionally need something NEW to obsess over…let’s move on to ninjas.

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The post When My Last Baby Turned 4 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Today I’m partnering with Faith of Life of Faith, as her guest co-host to bring you the Mommy Moments Link-up.

This is a space where readers can find new blogs to check out, and bloggers can link up their stories or tips each week and encourage each other.

So allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite weekly link-ups, Mommy Moments!

Welcome to Mommy Moments! It is a blessing to look back on the past several years with all of our co-hosts, guest hosts, and community of moms linking up to encourage and challenge one another. It’s worth so much to know that moms have been blessed and maybe felt a little less alone in doing what God has called them to do. Thank you all for using your writing to be a blessing to me as well as to the hundreds of other mamas who are reading it. I’m thankful for each of you who have made this link up possible!

 The featured post this week belongs to Create With Joy and the “Inspire Me Monday” Link Up! Create With Joy is such a wonderful place to stop by and share your creativity as well as be inspired by that of others! We love supporting fellow bloggers and other link ups, so stop by and link your posts up there in addition to Mommy Moments every week! 

!

 

 

The Life Of Faith

 

Stories Of Our Boys

 

Now, link up your post!

Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren’t a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

Please, pretty please, we’d love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends! Use the hashtag #mommymoments to help us all stay connected!

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We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up! If you are not able to copy/paste the code on your page, please e-mail one of us and we would be happy to send you the code!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Like most moms, I TRY to keep my children from letting all of their knowledge fall out over the summer.

Any “book learnin'” my four boys accomplish over the summer is typically solely because I forced them to do it. Maybe your kids aren’t like mine, I don’t know, but my children never ASK me to do workbook pages and catch up on their reading logs.

When I was a little girl, I LOVED doing workbooks, but that is not my kids. I can’t even fathom that.

Have we read this summer? Yes, tons. Have I recorded half of those books on the required reading logs? Um, no. Like I don’t have enough things to remember to do.

So at the end of the summer, I’ll basically stand there with the boys, wracking my brain, while begging them to think back, to remember what all they read this summer so we can fill out that bless-ed log.

Reading is the perfect start to keeping our minds active all summer long, but there are other skills to focus on in school too, and for that I have been looking for a good phone app that I can put my younger boys on!

After years of hearing of ABCmouse.com, I finally decided to download it and let my younger boys (ages 6 and 4) try it out.

I am happy to tell you it is everything I had hoped for, which means that they cover both letters, numbers, and other topics, and they can even play it unassisted.

You do need to help them at first, so they know where to find all the different things the app or website can do.

Actually, if your child is new to iPad games or is preschool age, I would help them the whole first week that they use it, just so you can guide them to less frustration and point them to the games that they could benefit the most from.

John David is 4, and I sit down and basically just watch him use it, and say things like, “Great job!” as he zips through a map (which is like 6 mini-lesson activities). After that, I turn him loose on it, and he can play with it however he chooses.

It’s a big deal to him that we do it together, and he cuddles in my lap while he works on his activities.

Daniel is 6, and he requires no supervision on the app at all.

My favorite thing about it is the sight word games. I also appreciate that each lesson is age appropriate. Too often, game makers over-estimate the finger dexterity or involvement of the parents.

Daniel’s favorite thing: Getting to play games on my phone

John David’s favorite part: Puzzles!!!

I went through today’s lessons for John David and Daniel and screen-shotted to show you what to expect with this app, a sneak peek if you will.

Actually, I should clarify that ABCmouse.com is not just an app. This entire program can be done on a mobile device or on a computer.

What to Expect

This puzzle sentence was on a K4 lesson. John David had no trouble dragging and dropping the words into place.

This is found on the initial preschool/kindergarten screen. Once you past this puzzle, you get a new one. We focused on puzzles because they were JD’s favorite.

Both of my boys love an app where you can color.

I forget what section this game was under, but Daniel had to choose the starting letter of each picture to spell the word.

There are many books in this app, which they read to your child. As the story is read, they highlight words as they go. This particular one was a lesson on the letter b.

In this sight word game, you get to smash the bugs with the correct sight word. I thought this one was so fun that I could have played it myself. Not even kidding.

An important lesson!

Choosing Your Kids’ Level

I goofed when I signed Daniel up, and I started him on Kindergarten lessons. When he opened it up to a lesson on “Aa”, he got insulted and put it down, so be careful what level you choose! Haha!! He is in 1st grade now, so I switched it to the 1st grade level.

It was very simple to sign in as the parent and switch his level up one, and then he had better lessons.

John David, on the other hand, is not accustomed to playing games on an iPad, so I put him  on K3 so it would be super easy while he learned how to use the app. Once he got used to it, I upped him to K4 lessons.

John David LOVES these games. He’s already amassed hundreds of tickets, which he can use to buy all sorts of little digital things for his ABCmouse avatar and room. He was even excited to earn his avatar a pair of blue pants. “Oooooh! Blue pants. I wike blue pants!”

I know you’re wondering, and I was too! How much does this cost???

The first month is FREE. Afterwards, it’s $7.95/per month. Nice!

me and my little scholars

“Mom, can I pway dat game on your phone?” Batman is quite a fan of ABCmouse!

I wish had discovered this website years ago because I feel like it’s truly going to help the boys to keep ahead this summer!

Now, y’all, if you decide to try it out too, PLEASE click on my links in this post or on my website to take you to the ABCmouse.com website because I do earn a small fee for each referral I send them who signs up.

Let me know if you try it and what you thought! Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments!!

Want MORE marvelous, helpful parent tips and reviews??

Sign up below to join the Stories of Our Boys newsletter, which goes out every other Thursday, and receive this free e-book about tween parenting! This is a compilation by 30 bloggers, and I wrote a chapter of it, about my favorite 2 books to encourage good character!

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The post A Parent Review of ABCmouse: Keeping Our Brains Working Through Summer appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I tried to take his pic outside by the car, but my iPhone spazzed, and I had to re-start it. I tried again once we got to his class, with my now working phone, but JD said, “You already did,” and walked off to show his new teacher his Lightning McQueen backpack.

Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a solid night’s sleep in a week. Maybe it’s because he’s my fourth son, my last baby. I don’t know, but today I dropped JD off at his first day at preschool, and I cried all the way home.

He’s three and a half, and he’s ready. We knew he was ready. He knew he was ready. His brothers are even excited for him.

And he handled it like a champ. He proudly put on his brand new Minions tennis shoes, showed me where to write his name on his new Batman lunch box, and rushed me out the door. He didn’t even pause long enough for his “First day” picture, he was just so eager to go.

And what did I do? Well, I handled it like a grown-up. I cried all the way home. I was supposed to go straight to the grocery store, but I couldn’t. I had to run home to my refuge, crying.

I’m fighting the urge to sit down in the floor with a Coca-Cola and a fat stack of baby photo albums and boo hoo.

I haven’t had days off like this since 2010. I’ve had part-time babysitters that came and took care of the boys while I went to doctor appointments, but this is different. I might finally write my book!

There is something extra special about time off when you are taking care of small children all the time. It is beyond necessary.  I hope if you are a mom of pre-schoolers that you will sanctify at least one day a week to have time off from taking care of children.

Schedule it! Make someone commit to watching those babies for you while you take 2 hours off, or whatever you can get!

Make them put it in writing.

“I promise to watch these sweet, precious children on this day at this time every single week so Mommy doesn’t lose her mind or end up with a heart problem.”

I miss that sweet little boy already. Oh, I love him so much. I can’t believe he is my last pre-schooler. I’ve had at least one preschooler, usually more, in this house for 11 years now, and suddenly I find myself almost finished with this phase. I only have 1 1/2 more years!

Oh, no. I’m going to start crying again if I talk about it. How I’ve loved it. I have loved every minute of taking care of these babies. Okay. That’s not true. I didn’t love every minute, but I loved THEM every minute.

JD sleeping on me just this past weekend, and Caleb showing of his latest Lego creation. I do love this job. I love it.

Sometimes I long for them at ages that they used to be that we will never get back. They are still here, but that age of them is gone forever. Sometimes I think back to, for example, baby Daniel, the round little ball of baby, my two-year-old boy who followed me around relentlessly wanting to help me do everything.

two-year-old Daniel

I think about rocking my babies at night, and while I don’t want to go through all that we went through again, I’d give anything just to hold one of those sweet babies and rock them and feed them.

holding one or two-year-old Caleb. He was a little sea-sick. (Destin, Florida)

I think about one-year-old Caleb and how he thought his big brother was the greatest person of all time. I think about them in their little Halloween costumes and how they’d take turns sitting in my lap to read books.

Okay, now I’m pouring tears, and I have clearly crossed over to the bad, bad, super sad place, so I’d better stop thinking about this.

Me with my very first toddler. I can still remember that feeling of new love you have when you first become a parent. It’s so much it feels like your heart could just explode with rainbows and joy.

I’m going to clean up my face, put my contacts in, and I’m going to go to Sam’s. I’m going to go be a grown-up, because that’s what you do and because we are almost out of milk and totally out of my coffee creamer. And I’m going to just be thankful for the time that I had with each of those adorable baby boys. I’ll keep enjoying them at the stages that they are now, and one day I’m going to be one awesome grandma.

Granted, I’m already under doctor’s orders to not lift any babies over 10 pounds because of my arthritis, but I can hold them in a chair, and I can take lots of Tylenol.

Then at 1:00 today, I get to pick JD back up and cuddle him for as long as he will let me, which if I put in a movie, might actually be a long time.

Don’t get me wrong, I have times when I’m so beaten down by kids that I’m not this sentimental, when I’m happy for a break. But today was JD’s first day of preschool, so today was not that day.

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead.

 

 

This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.                         Ecclesiastes 6:1-3

Enjoy those babies while you can. I guess that’s my point. Enjoy them, but take breaks because you really can’t pour water from an empty pitcher, and you know they will drain every drop from you. Take time to refill that pitcher and enjoy those little ones. That’s what I’m doing today. I’m re-charging….and I’m buying milk.

The post Thoughts on My Last Baby’s First Day of Preschool appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I came across this OLD post that I wrote in 2013. I emphasize that it’s from 2013 because I do not want any of you to get all excited and start thinking I’m expecting a baby.

There’s no baby. I’m so sorry to disappoint you. Ha!

I’m sharing this because I want every pre-school mom I know to read it. 

Some of you are like me, and you are busy, busy, busy with those little ones, and you are disappointed that you are not out there saving the world. Or you know, at least serving on the PTA. Ha! Because that’s the same right?

But why run yourself ragged? Yes, be involved in the community. You need that to stay sane, but once it gets to the point that you feel worn and empty, start cutting things. You can pick them back up later.

This is what I wrote when my first three children were ages 2-7, and I felt like I wasn’t keeping up as well as other elementary school moms:

It seems I will really never catch up on my housework. I booked myself too full of appointments and such last week to get much done. Alan is fantastic about helping, only Alan is too busy now to do much either. He had work, cub scouts, and baseball coaching this week.

We both did our best, but the fact is that we currently have more work than capable working hours.

You know what I think? I think God is preparing us for having four children. Four children, and not one over the age of seven. We need to learn our lesson now to stop signing up for activities, especially leadership roles (that’s Alan more so than me). Most all of my activities are physical maintenance and child rearing (like constant doctor visits). I did sign up to help my friend Margret with Staff Appreciation Week, and I haven’t even been able to be an effective helper! I do feel quite badly about that.

One thing that has been great this year is that I’ve met several more moms in the my neighborhood that also have preschoolers at home.

Here I am beating myself up because I cannot do all the things that Joshua’s friends’ moms do with the PTA and volunteering at school, when that is simply not the phase of life I’m in yet! These moms are a few years older than me, with no preschoolers left at home. The fact is we have different roles right now. Daniel and the baby that is soon to arrive (we do seriously plan to name him eventually) are a full-time job.

I had the privilege of walking to my Yoga class (oh, yes, I did sign up for 1 yoga class/week) with my friend Monica yesterday. Monica has a daughter in Caleb’s class. Monica also has a three-year-old, and she said some things that really made sense to me. She said something like,

“I just figure for now, while I’m taking care of a little one, I’m just not much use to anyone for much else. Even when it’s not nap time, there’s only so much I can do. You never know what her needs are going to be, or what mood she’s going to be in.” ~ Monica B.
Oh, yes, never were truer words spoken!

I’m going to finish out the things I am currently committed to (well, as best as I can), and then I’m done.

Of course, the Yoga class and the Fitness in the Park class I actually consider to be for my health. There are lots of negative health effects to gaining 50 pounds with each pregnancy, believe me! I’m still not convinced I can change that either though, but ugh I’m so tired of even thinking about pregnancy weight!

I even turned in my resignation for my Sunday school class a few weeks ago. I’m going to do it until the baby comes, and then I’ll just be home for a long time. When I finally go back, I will be attending Alan’s class, since he’s actually going to be teaching an adult class, starting in June.

Gradually, I’ll add back in nursery duty. When you’re breastfeeding you spend a ridiculous amount of time back in the church nursery feeding your baby anyway!

I’m not cutting everything, but it’s time to give my family a little extra grace and time and space to grow in. Reasonable expectations are a rewarding thing to have.

Praise the Lord for our sweet little boys. Can’t wait to meet the new one!

Have you ever gone through a phase where you simplified? Did you see a huge difference? I  certainly did, and I’d love to hear about your experience too.

The post Navigating Preschool Life: A Mom’s Expectation Makeover appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

All of us at Open House

I LOVE being a stay at home mom.

No, I mean literally. I LOVE IT. I always have. This is my pace of living y’all. Yes, I have to get up BEFORE 6am now to drag sleeping boys out of bed and drive them to school, but that is the ONLY down side.

My life is so free now. I made a schedule on day 1, just to make it all feel official. Then I took the notebook I wrote the schedule in, closed it, stuck it somewhere I’ll never find it again, and got on with my stay-at-home-mama life.

enjoying the slower life after school: One advantage to moving is that at first you belong to NOTHING. No clubs. No sports. Just freedom.

It’s just JD and me during the day now. He already made up his own routine, perfect for a 3-year-old.

Here’s his basic daily plan of action:

1. While Mom begs brothers to get out of bed, JD is always the first kid up.
2. Drink milk that is 50% white milk and 50% chocolate milk.
3. Ask for breakfast food, but never eat it.
   

   Also he does love to sweep.

4. Piddle around with toys, usually planes or cars.
5. Ride with Mom to drop off his brothers.
6. Eat a snack.
7. Paint and then stand behind Mom while she does her workout asking, “Done yet? Done yet? Done yet? Done now? Now?” over and over again.
   

   Getting’ fit with kbburn.comwhile JD stands behind me asking, “You done yet? Done now? All finished? You wash Dusty now?”

   Dusty is his airplane. He likes to draw on his eyes and then beg me to wash all of the marker off.

Hot Tip: Sharpie is easily removed from many surfaces, using rubbing alcohol. Even walls. Unfortunately, it did not work on my dining room chairs. This is my true area of expertise.

8. Watch Planes while also playing with about 15 toy airplanes.

9. Before Planes is over, ask to take a bath with 30 or so toys.

So much cuteness! I love my job.

10. After the bath, let Mom dress him and then have lunch with Mom.

11. Story time!

12. Nap: He sleeps on Daniel’s top bunk with the box of 20 toys that he carries around the house.

13. Mom carries him, asleep, from the top bunk to his car seat.

mini-Alan #4

14. Jump on the trampoline with Joshua. This is so adorable to watch.

This is so different from what spending the days with Daniel was like.

Daniel and I had one year that was just the two of us, back when he was 1 1/2- 2 years old. With Daniel, I had to re-trace my steps every few minutes to make sure he wasn’t pouring syrup all over the table, painting his chair with lipstick, or emptying an entire bottle of baby powder all over himself. And let’s not even talk about the poop play-doh incident. *Shudder.* I was really thankful for the steam cleaner that day, and also thankful that Alan and Nonna cleaned Daniel up while I got off scott free.

There was no limit to the things he’d get into. He was always helpful and sweet, and I would take him anywhere, but whoo–he could think up some messes to make and execute like no other.

If John David miraculously lets me stay in a room by myself, I can guarantee you the most mischievous thing he has done so far is color all of his cars with markers, which I let him do because who cares, they are his cars.

And yes, he’s finally 100% potty-trained.

I do miss my assistant chef, though. The other night, I held Daniel in my lap, and I just sobbed. Kindergarten is emotional for mommas. Gracious, what is with me lately? I said, “Daniel, I miss how we always baked cookies together, now that you are in school all day. I miss you so much.”

John David looked at me, with the cutest, guiltiest, sheepish look on his face and said, “Sorry, Mom. I’ll cook whi choo.”

But he didn’t, and that’s okay. We don’t all love baking. I get it. Maybe I’ll lose weight without Daniel here, driving me to bake goodies.

I do miss all three of them, but I’m enjoying spending my days at this slower pace too.

Now if I can just figure out how to squeeze in a little “working at home” time, maybe I could make some money. It’s the best of both worlds. I just need to get in the habit of picking up more writing/blogging jobs.

However, next year John David will go to pre-school part-time, and I will have even more time to work. Years and years stretch ahead of me in which I can and will work for money, but these are precious years, years that you cannot get back. And I am loving this!

Babies don’t keep. They tell me he’s not a baby anymore. Fine. If you insist, but he looks like a baby to me. Pre-schoolers don’t keep either, and I could just eat him up, he’s so darlin’!

Yep, I’m back to being a regular ol’ stay-at-home, occasionally work-at-home mom, and this is the life for me.

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The post My New Stay at Home Mom Job: Just JD and me (and the blog) appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Playing peek-a-boo and look! He was holding his favorite toy airplane, Dusty! So this was before he buried Dusty in the sand. We spent 10 minutes looking, but Dusty was never to be found again. He’s hoping to get a new one for his 3rd birthday.

I’m sitting by the bathroom, making sure JD does not splash while he takes his bath. I can hear some other children of mine downstairs, voicing their disapproval of what I’ve cooked for dinner, and well….I’m thinking perhaps some of my summer vacation plans should be alone….maybe Alan can come, but that’s it.

When Aunt Janet and Daniel get together

So here’s my EXCITING NEWS. JD suddenly up and decided to start pooping on the potty this week. I’ve died and gone to Heaven, but first, there was that one day….

JD, you just made your momma so happy!!!

–John David excitedly met me in the hall way shouting, “I pooped in the potty! I pooped in the potty!”

Cautiously, I ran to the toilet to check his story. Odd. He seemed so proud, and there was a smudge in the bowl, but no poop….

“JD, where’s the poop?”

“Right there!” So it was. There was a shiny wet log, wrapped in a baby wipe like a poop-hot dog, sitting there on the bathroom counter.

“Oh!!  Ah!! Okay, JD, Mommy is so proud of you. Yeah!!  Good job!!! It is so great that you pooped on the potty. You are a BIG boy now, but please, next time, let’s leave the poop in the potty.”

“Yes, JD, so great. Big boy! Definitely always leave it in the toilet.”

….Then the next day he pooped in his underwear again. I wasn’t impressed. JD asked, “So I’m a little boy again?”

Sigh.

But ever since he’s been doing it the right way. He just suddenly shouts, “I gotta poop!”

We help him with his shorts, and then he runs off to the potty. Hurray!!!

“I’m making dirt angels!” (There aren’t enough baths in the world to keep this many little boys clean.)

So let’s recap the month of May:

Thesis: finished

Homeschool: DONE!

Field Trip to The Farm

Last child in diapers: Potty-trained!

Ablation: Canceled. Monitor inserted instead. I’m having lots of dizzy spells, though. I don’t know if they are a heart thing, but I have an appointment on Thursday.

Preschool: Graduated!

That was the last time my camera was seen or used, unfortunately…Sigh. No idea where he put that thing.

The move: all booked, scheduled, and planned. We are 3 weeks out!!!!

New House: Well, I’m still working on that one. Let’s not be hasty when it comes to my home sweet home.

The big boys: Improved their wardrobe by 100% by letting them watch The Sandlot. After that, they started dressing like Rodriguez, from the movie, and playing baseball ALL the time. They started their own league, at the elementary school baseball field, called The Sandlot League.

Don’t get too excited. They are already starting to go back to neon basketball shorts with shirts that don’t match.

The food: Emma introduced us to a delicacy that I sort of became addicted to, and you can buy them at the local farmer’s market:

Oh, yeah. Gluten free caramel apples!

Things are sounding pretty awesome, don’t you think?

It reminds me of that saying that you hear at church:

“God is good all the time. All the time, God is good!”

Alan and our friend, Tom, are taking the three oldest boys and Tom’s son to a minor league game today. JD and I are hopefully working on cleaning out drawers and cabinets in preparation for this move. I’ve already completed 4 closets, the buffet drawers, and the living room.

It feels SO GOOD to haul stuff off to Goodwill!!

One last story:

This is what my to do list looked like the other day:

-Morning Chores

-Check on Daniel.

-Shower/get ready

-Check on Daniel.

-Start sheets.

-Check on Daniel.

-Put away laundry. Move sheets to dryer.

-Check on Daniel.

-Well, you get the idea.  He’s such a good kid, and I can take him anywhere, but left to himself, he is busy, creative, and mischievous. You never know what he might decide to do!

Sometimes I do wonder what he will try next.

hehehe, fun with Aunt Janet’s iPad….And yes, that’s our thankful tree in the background. Yes, it’s almost June, and it’s been up since Thanksgiving. I couldn’t bear to take it down, I like thankful trees even better than Christmas trees. So much less stressful!!

Happy Memorial Day, y’all!

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