August & September have come & gone but I am in rewind mode to document some of the happenings around here. In mid -July my parents kidnapped me + five & took us home with them for a week which turned into two....more on that later. I was not laughing during carseat relocation & installation as it unfolded but have laughed since then about a Facebook "conversation" between the Polish Valentines, Jenny's family & us. One posted a link to an article titled something to the effect of "Happiest parents have four or more children." Robby replied "this study was obviously not conducted during meals, bedtime or loading the car." I would like to add carseat installation to this list. It is always so intense & sweaty but the end result of this specific workout was to spend a week (or two) with the Great Gaga, Paw Paw & couple super fun uncles. Once it was complete there were lots of kisses for the Daddy we left behind & we were on our way! This sweet, darling, sleeping child was faking it in the picture below....
Our time was full of activity but it was all low key & relaxing. There was plenty of dressing up...
swinging & reading....
scootering & exploring...
For so long the pool has not even been a possibility for us for a few reasons. One, we really need an extra adult around. Two, we have had a couple "could be" swimmers but there is nowhere for them to learn AND practice on a regular basis. Three, Arlo let us know that he wasn't a big fan...so what were we supposed to do with him?
We were so excited to find that after a couple days in the pool Charlotte was really comfortable in the water. Eloise was so comfortable that she jumped in to save her pool noodle which led to me jumping in to save her! They decided to jump off the diving board with a life jacket & then I decided to "help" ie throw/drop the boys off the end of the board (also in life jackets). It did not go well as one glared at me & said "that was not fun mommy!" I thought it would take once to get them hooked on jumping in but it had the opposite effect. Heartless Mommy award!
We noticed a woman teaching one on one swim lessons that happened to be someone my brothers & I went to school with. We caught her after a lesson & got the girls signed up for the rest of the week. I was SHOCKED to see how well they did after a couple 30 minute sessions. Charlotte was swimming across the deep end, jumping off the board & sliding down the slide. Eloise was a little powerhouse that would start out holding my arms while I stepped backward in the water but within a couple strokes I couldn't move fast enough to stay out of her way. She was comfortable jumping off the side, going under & pushing off the bottom of the pool in about 3 ft of water. She surprised us one morning during her lesson when Emily (her teacher) said "Eloise wanted to come tell you she would like to jump off the board & wants you to catch her." I felt so nervous and actually whispered to Emily asking if she could catch her & I would be the assistant. I also asked if Eloise would pop right back up without any effort. Her answer assured me that I could be dependable in the water. She went for it, I caught her as she popped back up, gave her a little push & she was able to swim to the side. Big girls... I was so proud of them.
They were impressed with me as I practiced my back flips off the board. When I was walking to the end of it, the 16 year old lifeguard said "Momma has got to show off huh?" I felt so lame. I did feel better when I climbed out of the deep end, turned around & saw my mom jumping off the board! No flips for her but I was impressed & I'm sure the 16 year old young man felt the same way!
Owen loved the big pool with a life jacket & Anson preferred the little pool. He was so proud to show us how he could "swim" underwater & was absolutely adorable. They had been practicing in the bathtub. My favorite is when there would be about 4 inches of water in the tub & say "Mom! I can breathe underwater!" They would lower their heads until the water was up to their ears then take deep breaths before yelling "See! I did it!" Here's Anson taking a ride...
We ended up making it to the pool about 12 out of 14 days so they got lots of practice in...me too ; )
A fun thing us girlies did together was see Lion King Jr. the was performed by 2nd-6th graders who had completed a two week camp at the high school. It was a fantastic first production for the girls to see what the theater is like plus the tickets were $5. Charlotte read the entire playbill that had little bio's of the cast & crew & for the rest of the week would talk about them by name mentioning the songs they performed & what she liked about them. We had so much fun on our little outing.
My mom & I spent a little time together discussing caring for your home. She gave me a quick rundown on a book she read long ago as noted by the 1984 calendar she had inside the box she used to put this method into effect. It is a great idea but I adapted it to my likings & it is working horribly! I'm the problem....I struggle to keep up with the deep cleaning & really any cleaning at all other than wiping down the kitchen countertop daily & moving one pile of stuff out of a main room & into another. Anyway, maybe I will revisit this in the new year. My mom does a great job in her home & is always willing to jump in & tag team with me when she's in town. The Nest will likely not be as spic & span as I desire until at least a few kids move out or possibly all of them ; ) It never hurts to try though.
Speaking of sweet & happy times, Blue Bell released their newest flavor soon after we arrived. Texas Two Step which a cross between chocolate chip cookie dough & cookies n' cream. Oh my, I'm so glad they worked out that listeria thing! Uncle Scott brought it over & fed a giant spoon full of the ice cream topped with chocolate syrup & sprinkles! I should have loaded up some car seats (despite the headache) & sent them home with him!
Me + 5 spent a late afternoon/evening with Cheryl my college roomie & her family. Her bunch is 5, 3 & 1 so our combination is wild! One highlight of that visit was when I threw a football at Charlotte & hit her in the face. I felt AWFUL! She was ready to get in the car & leave before dinner but I coached her through it & convinced her to stay only to be hit in the head or face two more times while playing. When I tucked her in that night she looked at me with the saddest eyes & said "Mommy, my head hurts." I'm sure it did. We only got a picture of these two cuties....Arlo & Scarlett. Since it is always so noisy when our whole families are together we snuck away one evening with just the two of us & it was wonderful! A couple hours of interrupted chatting in the back of Panera? We ran out of things to talk about! Back to the babies..
One of my last evenings there two handsome fellas took me out on a date. They treated me to dinner out & then per my request took me to a bowling alley. I had not been bowling in years so I was ecstatic. This was the picture we took on the way in...
Sadly their lanes were full due to a league night. Grrrr. We immediately walked back out. I thought all my dreams of bowling with these guys were over but they were willing to look up & drive to another alley. It was awesome. We had fake names up for the players on our screen but the only one we can remember was Floyd. Our lane was the very end which provided slight privacy for a happy dance after a good throw...or roll...or whatever you call it. We finished up, returned our shoes & walked into the arcade area. I wanted to play Skee-Ball just once. It's my all time favorite. Sadly it was no longer inserting quarters in the machine to make it start & you had to add money in increments of five dollars onto the credit card. This meant we started with five then kept adding. Skee-Ball got lots of attention but the icing on the cake was Dance Dance Revolution. I tried first & failed miserably. Scott went next & I knew he would be better than me but he blew my performance right out of the water! You might think he keeps one of those in his closet. Seriously. After watching, Kyle & I decided we should try again. Scott recorded us & I pray it never shows up on YouTube! Kyle did much better than me but I think it's because his legs are a foot longer than mine ; ) Last stop was the ticket counter where all those memories of spending much too long to decide came rushing back. I kind of felt the same way with our measly 50 tickets! We decided on purchasing a few mini erasers, a plastic cowboy & indian & two of those neon shoelace looking rings....not for us, for the chitlins.
It was a wonderful evening finished off by a group effort to provide the caption for the above Instagram photo. Final decision was:
It's a toss up:
1. Bowl or Bust
2. Split, Spare, Strike it, that's the way we like it!
3. Does anyone have any hand sanitizer?
4. I always love how my bare feet feel inside those shoes.
5. You can't go bowling without at least one Fungi! (I had two fun guys)
Our one week trip was quickly extended to two weeks when I was on FaceTime with Rob & he showed me a picture of the laundry room he had gutted. He planned to take down & remount a cabinet so there would be room for the pedestal he built to go under the washer & dryer. One thing led to another & it was empty! Once I saw the washing machine was sitting in the middle of the kitchen I knew we couldn't come back with five children. He worked so hard before coming to retrieve us from Kingwood & I could hardly wait to see it! The walls are a beautiful blue with new bright white baseboards, new floors, a pedestal previously black but now painted white & a brand new sink & cabinet! There is a little work to be done to complete that makeover but as is, I LOVE it & my handy hubby. For those first few weeks he would find me just standing in the laundry room. for an extra few minutes....I just couldn't help myself!
What a great trip it was. Two weeks went by in a flash & we were back in the hustle & bustle of life at the Nest sans Gaga. It is always painful for everyone to adjust to having one mama around during the day instead of an extra grandma, grandpa & uncles dropping in to surprise them. I'm just so boring I guess! We can't wait to make another trek south!
