"Now that the kids are in school what are you going to do?"

I can't tell you how many times I have heard that in the last few days. It doesn't bother me, it's a valid question. I have spent the last 5 years staying at home with the kids! It's been wonderful being able to stay at home with them. It's also been maddening! :) I will tell you there hasn't been a dull moment. EVER.

But back to the question...I have a ton of projects that I want to finish. Like baby books, I'm just a little behind, like 5 years behind. No lie! I also have lots of organizing to do. I love organization and these last few years have been tough in the 'keeping things organized" department. I have bills from last year that still need to be filed, they are just piled on the desk downstairs, what's the old saying, "Out of sight, out of mind." Yikes! 

I also want to paint a dresser and get that out of the garage.

Then there is the toy room....ugh...

And of course there is the day to day things like errands, laundry, cleaning, cooking, and baking. (Those last two things I plan on doing a lot more.)

But I also plan on taking some time to reconnect with me..."Hello, Self, I'd like to reintroduce you to Yourself." And to do that I'm going to spend some time with God. In his Word, at church, on the golf course, or maybe in the "Oh Baby" while it's still nice. (The "oh Baby" is my lay out chair. The kids started calling it that the day we got it because when I sat down in it for the first time I said, "oh baby, now this is relaxing". That was three years ago.) I also love to read, and write when the mood strikes.

I have other plans too. Plans to volunteer; at school, church, and maybe some other places too.

One thing is for sure, I want to be intentional about how I spend my time. Just like when my kids were at home all day, this time too is a gift. I would hate for Adam to think that while he was working to pay the bills I was just sitting at home eating Bon-Bons. (I wonder if they still make those, I should get some and do this when Adam gets home as a joke sometime! That would be hilarious!!!)

1st Day of School

So here we are the first day of school. I woke up early, made some cinnamon rolls, hoping that the aroma would wake them from their slumber. That didn't happen but they were pleasantly surprised to see the cinnamon rolls.

They don't look that pleasant but they were I promise.

After breakfast we brushed our teeth, got on our clothes, and then headed out the front door to take some more pictures.

Here are my babies (wahhh!!!) and as you can see, or actually can't see, my license plate sign wasn't really showing up that awesomely.

Big Sis

Jonathan

Hayden

Hannah

Adam trying to get a picture with me and the kids.

Adam with the kids...much better picture. 

After pictures we loaded into the car and off to school we went. Once we got there I was able to take everyone to their classroom and I was even able to stay for the announcements in the Kindergarten room. After which, the each one of the kids told me that it was time for me to leave at least once...so I did. It was a very bitter sweet moment for me. This is one of those big moments that as a parent you have to cut one of those strings. You walk away hoping and praying that all the things that you have taught them in their short lives so far will be with them. Like manners, kindness, and their abc's.

 Today's first day was a short one. 11:45 dismissal. So I thought I would surprise the kids and pick up some lunch before I picked them up so that they would smell it right when they got in the car. :) Then I took them to a park for a picnic and to play for a while. They were VERY surprised! I also got to hear all about their first day and they had a lot of fun and even made some new friends. Yay!

1st day of school was a success! Now I will be spending the the night praying that tomorrow will go just as well! 

Back to School Night

 Last night was our back to school night at the kid's new school. They had a great time and really enjoyed getting to see their class rooms and meeting their teachers. We got meet a lot of very nice people and try a few bites of their famous Newton Pies, and I can tell you they are really that good! Yum!

The school had a little photo opp area so we took advantage of that. :)

 Jonathan (Kindergarten)

 Olivia (2nd Grade)

 Hayden (Kindergarten)

 Hannah (Kindergarten)

And here they all are in the best picture I could get. :)

By the time we got home it was straight to bed. I was exhausted and vowed to go to bed at 9...then again at 10...and then finally at 11. But I was able to make these back to school picture license plate thingys.

 The good thing about having triplets and an older sibling is that you only need to make two signs. :)

Its Happening....

So it's happening, it's really happening.

In one week from today the kids will ALL be going to school. Full-time. From 8:15 am to 3:00 pm. We will officially have a 2nd grader and 3 kindergartners! I'm really not sure how it happened or when it happened but all of the sudden it's here...the day they all go off to school together.

I'm not going to lie either. There have been times that I have dreamed for this day to finally come, but now that it's here...I'm not so sure.

To add to my mixed ball of emotions we decided to pull the kids from our great public school (I'm not even being sarcastic about that either, it really is great) and put them in a private school that we are hoping praying will be even greater! My favorite saying so far about this whole transition is by Olivia, "Maybe we will learn more about God and less about math!" And for her sake I hope they do!

So for the next 6 days I am going to try really hard to not wish away the hours when the kids are at each others throats, making a huge mess of the house, and/or driving me bonkers. And I'm going to really, really, try to enjoy every lunch, snack, smile, and even whine while I can. I know it's cliche but time really does go by fast.

Turning 5 and the Start of a New Book

As we tucked the kids in bed tonight it was a little bitter sweet. It was their last night as four year olds. They are excited about waking up and being five years old tomorrow morning, and I am too...kind of. 

The thing is, I've been wishing them older a lot the last 2 years. But now that they are getting there I just don't know that I'm ready for it. I'm going to get real honest here for a minute... ages three and four have been a little tough, or should I say rough. There has been a lot of fighting, yelling, screaming, crying, pleading, begging and praying, and I'm not talking about all these thing coming from just the kids either. :) It's been a trying couple of years. But there has also been a lot of growing, caring, sharing, learning, loving, forgiving, and praying going on these last two years too. The fact is my babies will be finishing up preschool this spring and after a summer full of fun, fights, and travels they will be starting kindergarten in the fall. KINDERGARTEN! A part of me wants to jump up and down singing praises to the Lord for making it this far, but then the other part of me just keeps saying, "Kindergarten...how did this happen!" And I know what some of you might be saying, "Kindergarten, that is still five months away!" 

I feel like them turning 5 isn't just a new chapter but the start of a new book. As for the ending of this first book, I would have to say that the last four years have been the most exhausting of my life. Not just physically, but emotionally, and mentally as well. Everyday has been full of ups and downs. But the things that have kept growing daily are my children, my love for this family, and my faith in the Lord. And in the end what more can I ask for.

Jonathan

So this is Jonathan. My little boy. His sweet smile melts my heart every time. 

Jonathan is all boy, and sometimes kitty. (When the girls want to play house he wants to be the kitty. Today I saw kitty peeing outside the playroom, pretend peeing that is, sounds and all. Like I said, he is all boy.) Jonathan has a heart of gold. His sweetness could melt the grumpiest of old men and his sense of humor could make the saddest smile.

Here he is with dad at Aunt Aubrey's wedding. He had so much fun dancing I could hardly believe that this was the same boy that would hide and cry when he was in front of people he didn't know well. He is really coming out of his shell and becoming much more outgoing.

This picture was taken at Bloomsbury Farms, otherwise known as "Blueberry" Farms, during a preschool field trip this fall. He had so much fun jumping on the jumping pillow and exploring all the things that there is to explore out there. I am finding that Jonathan really loves being outside. Whether he is in the backyard, riding his bike, playing baseball, or just relaxing.

I LOVE this picture. It's from our summer vacation "Up North". Jonathan walked up to the lake's edge, took a seat, and seemed to be soaking in all of God's creation. I'm not sure if this will make sense to some, but I could literally feel how at peace he was up here. I can only imagine what was going on inside that head of his. Anyways, we also found out that Jonathan loves fishing, being out on the boat, and casting his Spiderman fishing pole. He was in Heaven! 

Jonathan also got to experience some Iowa farm life this fall. His first was with my dad combining beans, and then just a week or two later he got to go out again with Mr. Fritz and drive the combine through some corn. I think I was just as excited to go out with Mr. Fritz as Jonathan was. I have such great memories of being out on my grandparents farm as a kid that I really wanted them to be able to see what it's like. Thankfully we know some really wonderful people that let us come out to there farm for the afternoon. Mr. Fritz, Cathy, Cari, Casey and kids...we love you!

Jonathan also loves helping dad at work. He loves anything with moving parts and likes to figure out how things work and move. I don't think Sadler Power Train will have a hard time recruiting this young man someday. :)

Hayden

Oh Hayden, isn't she beautiful...

This little girl is smart, caring, kind, she loves big and falls BIG. I'm pretty sure this girl is ready for the drama stage already. Just the other day we were having a family meeting (These usually happen when we want to talk about a behavior that we have been seeing too much of. They also usually consist of some sort of role playing on what we are seeing and what we would like to see. The kids actually love family meetings because of the role playing, I'm almost positive that wont last long! Can you imagine trying to role play with your teenage kids on how you'd like to see their attitudes improve! Ha!). Anyways, we were talking about whining, or what I like to think of as nails on a chalk board. It was Hayden's turn to pretend to be whining about something and then practice what we would like her to do if, and when, she starts to whine. Hayden starts up and all the kids are watching. She then goes to the spot where she is suppose to until she cools off. (Thanks Audrey for the idea!) While she is sitting on grandma's bed she continues to whine and cry to the point we all start looking at each other because we can't tell if she is serious or if she is still role playing! Olivia finally asks her if she is still pretending and when she stops to say yes, Olivia says, "Wow mom, she is really good. I thought she was really upset!" Now I am wondering how many times I have fallen for her act!

Hayden also loves to do anything her big sister Liv is doing, and when she can't I start to see a lot of what I was just explaining about above. :) 

Hayden loves to help in the kitchen and is pretty creative when it comes to drawing and coloring too.

 Here she is putting on a little show. Thankfully this show just consisted of singing and no whining.

She can also be very serious at times. Here Hayden is with her uncle Josh driving the boat on our family vacation this summer they both have great serious faces.

 And Hayden loves posing for pictures.

And I love that sweet face!

Halloween and the Switch Witch

Trick-R-Treat!

This year we have (left to right): Hayden as Princess Aurora, Jonathan as Johnny Football, Olivia as Vampire Rapunzel, and Hannah as Wedding Rapunzel. 

Since Hannah was sick earlier this week she stayed home to answer the door for me so I could hand out the candy. Adam was then assigned to take the rest of the kids trick-r-treating. Adam and I decided to give the Switch Witch a try this year and hoped that the kids would go for it. We let them pick out 5 of their favorite pieces of candy to keep but then they had to put the rest in a bag for the Switch Witch. The Switch Witch then takes the candy during the night and leaves behind presents. It felt like Christmas the next morning! The kids were up early and running around with excitement to see what the Switch Witch had left them. Success! But now what's a mom to do with all that chocolate hidden up high???  I think we all know exactly what's going to happen with the chocolate...it will slowly start to disappear from it's secret hiding spot during preschool, rest times, and bedtimes and then quickly start reappearing on my butt, hips and thighs. :)

The Switch Witch left Hannah a Hello Kitty alarm clock, Olivia and Hayden a fancy mirrors, and Jonathan a superman bank and alarm clock.

The Switch Witch will definitely be coming back next year and I will be taking advantage of it for as long as I can!