Bonus

What we don't make in money, we make up for in free pictures!

Job Perk

46 pictures of myself.

Want one?

Closing in on One

I cannot believe Luke will be one in 3 weeks. This year has gone so fast, and as you would expect, I feel like hardly remember him being little.

11 mos stats:

~25 pounds

very laid back

2/3 formula 1/3 breastmilk

pretty much done with baby food...he wants the real stuff!

I've been pumping exclusively since about 10 mos

FINALLY his top two teeth have cut through, but no others

inconsistent napper & nighttime sleeper - lately it's 8:30-7:00 without getting up, but I'm not keeping my hopes up

going through major stranger & separation anxiety...makes daycare drop-off tough on me

on command he can: wave bye-bye, shake head no, dance

loves, loves, loves his older brothers - they can all make him laugh really hard

loves to be outside in the trampoline

walks behind little walker toy

crawling up stairs pretty fast

babbles a lot

starting to play with toys, not just suck on them

We love this little boy to pieces!

I wish I knew what he was thinking about.

Playing

Logistics

I'm venting after a very busy day. It was still a good day, but lots to manage.

The logistics of my life are bogging me down. I'm trying SO HARD to maintain a positive attitude and not let myself get stressed out.

*Homework routines for Ben and Matt. Matt has a lot and it can be exhausting for him.

*Luke's got major stranger/separation anxiety settling in. Daycare's been tough for him recently.

*Luke's not sleeping through the night again. He is so inconsistent!

*Still pumping 4x/day, although I think I'll be done soon.

*Not good about keeping in touch with people lately (parents, siblings, friends, neighbors...)

*What's for supper?

*New grade level for me means lots of extra prep required

*Today alone I scheduled 5 different dr. appointments for the next month. (Dentist, well-checks)

*Brian and I have conferences on the same nights TWICE in October. Child-care nightmare.

*We juggle 3 school districts. All 3 districts have different spring breaks. Child-care nightmare.

*Finding time for exercise. Sounds petty, but it is important to me and I'm struggling to keep it regular. This morning sleep won out...again!

Mostly I'm writing this because one day I know I will have forgotten what it was like at this stage of our lives.

We're taking it one day at a time! Feeling overwhelmed can come easily, but I take a step back, pray and pray some more, and thank God for the wonderful life He has blessed me with!

The Honeymoon's Over

The first 5 days of school have been really good for all of us. Our mornings around here have been pretty smooth sailing.

This morning was day 6. I had to wake Matt for the first time this year.

"Time to get up Matt."

"Mom, is it Saturday?"

"No, it's Tuesday."

"Oh, for crying out loud. Why can't it be Saturday?!"

I know the feeling, buddy! Fortunately once he got moving he was fine. I have yet to have an "I don't want to go to school" issue with either of the boys, and I pray it won't happen anytime soon!

Happy Tuesday!

It Can Wait

I'm struggling to find the balance with all the different roles I have. The first week back to school and daycare has been busy and tiring, and now that Luke is moving and into everything, it just seems that much harder to get anything done. I wasn't to bed until almost midnight every night this first week, and then usually up by 6:00.

I have to be okay letting some things go. Tonight was one of those nights. It was a beautiful Friday night. We've all had a big week of adjustments. I wanted to crash on the couch, but I knew I should either get outside with the boys, attempt to tidy up the house, or do some school work.

We decided to get outside with the boys. Ben and Matt biked, Brian pulled Adam and Luke in the Burley and I ran along side them. We had a nice time together and came back to a messy house, and an empty lesson plan book, but that's okay. It can wait!

We left our Taco Bell wrappers on the table and headed out for our ride.

The never-ending line of backpacks

Luke's trail of toys

My dumping ground

At least the cleaning supplies have made it out of the cupboard!

Boys' Trip

During the last week of summer, Brian decided to take the 3 older boys to South Dakota to visit his parents and do some big-kid activities. I opted to stay home with Luke, spend some time setting up my classroom, go though closets before school started, and quite honestly, enjoy the calm before the storm!

The boys, Brian, Opa and Grandma had a nice time together for one last hurrah of summer!

Opa & Matt

Becoming Thor outside of Target

It cracks me up that the boys were all testing out their toys before they made it across the parking lot.

A day at the waterpark

He'll be driving for real before too long.

Visiting a home of Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is how to have fun without screen time!

That a boy!! Learning to do the laundry.

Calm and peaceful

A fun picture

This picture makes me chuckle for some reason!

Grinding corn

Ah, yes...back to technology!
The boys, including Brian, had a fun trip!

Thanks, Grandma & Opa

First Day

Another school year! It's crazy how fast it always comes and always goes. We all had a good start to the year. My job-share partner and I work a full day together on the first and last day of school, so my day began at 6:00 so I could be out the door by 8:30 for daycare and school drop-offs, and I was walking into my own building with my students at 9:15.

Luke - At our neighbor and friend Kari's house for daycare. She said he had a good first day back and took a couple of good naps!

Adam - Also at Kari's house and now one of, if not the oldest child there. He'll be doing preschool with her twice a week.

Matt- 3rd grade, had a great first day, excited to learn cursive

Ben - 5th grade, a good first day, although he says his teacher is a little cheesy.

Brian - PE teacher for the 2nd year, but now he'll be at a 2nd building for a small portion of his job. He said he had a great day and a couple of times mentioned he can't believe he gets paid to do his job.

Me - 4th grade teacher (this is a new grade level for me) from noon-4:00. I really enjoyed them today and I'm looking forward to not having the oldest kids in the building.

I had a meal planned for this evening and we enjoyed a family walk together after supper. I still get very overwhelmed thinking about juggling all of my different roles, and I hate to admit it, but I lost my patience a little bit tonight at bedtime. I get stressed at that time of day thinking about all that still needs to be done, plus like everyone else, I'm tired!

It doesn't help when I glanced at an email that referred to this blog, which took my good day and suddenly made me feel substandard as a mom. I guess I shouldn't compare my boring PB & J lunches, but really, a bus themed lunch?!?!

The food planning will forever be a struggle for me.

I didn't have time to take individual pictures of everyone this morning.

3rd grade!
Last year of elementary school for Ben!
My 4th grade class (It's probably illegal to post this picture, but I'll take my chances.)

North Shore Pix From Papa

Luke's expression cracks me up.

Random extra kid
Enjoying the waves
Dipping his toes
Boys will be boys
They could climb rocks for HOURS!
I still can't believe we have 4 BOYS!
Paparazzi
Working on the jump shots
Who on earth do these kids belong to?!