New Baby!

My friend Susan just had a new baby - a little girl! It was so much fun to see her this weekend and to be around such a little one again. There's just something so wonderful about them when they are new! Here's one of the birth announcements I've designed for her. This stuff is just too much fun. :)

Affirmation

My encouragement for the week as we've crossed off yet another milestone in the life of a kid that had the potential to make my stomach hurt:

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
~John 17:15

Gotta let go little by little, but God never lets go.

He loves to ride the bus - so far so good!

A New Rhythm

So the last two weeks have brought a new rhythm to our household. K's in school all day and A's in school every day, I've got this photo thing going... so I have actually had to establish a morning routine, some rules, and a SCHEDULE! Hold the phone - I wouldn't believe it myself if I weren't living it. So far so good. The kids all get dressed and fed with minimal fuss or muss, and breakfast is eaten without any begging for "kids shows." We have a nice walk together down to the bus stop each morning. EB likes going to "skoo-skoo" to drop off big sis and often wanders into other kids' rooms to check things out. I listen to the sounds of power tools and hammers in the basement. We sit (and sit) in the afternoon carpool line to pick up big brother, but at least I get to read or work a little bit and A works puzzles or looks at books. K needs downtime when he gets home, so I've actually had a little peace and quiet for cooking dinner between 4 and 5. Now, dinner is another story - eating with them has become a nightmare this week - but Geof is coming up with new family dinner rules that the kids will sign off on, and he even bought a book to read to the kids before dinner to help remind them of what's expected. New and old activities have started some evenings, so it's generally busy around here!

K is keeping up with his drum set lessons at Rock School, and his teacher continues to give us encouragement that K has an unusual talent. Yesterday K's drum stage got framed in the basement, so he can't wait for it all to be finished so he can start rocking out. With all that's gone on in the last year, I've pretty much given up traditional scrapbooking. I just don't have time to drag out the big bin of supplies, I don't have time to browse the scrapbook store, I have WAY too many pictures to print, I have WAY too many little hands that want to help... So I'm dabbling in the world of digital scrapbooking. Here's my first official effort! I was so excited about it. Only took 30 minutes or so this morning before the kids were even out of bed. This would have taken all day the "old way."

She Just Makes Me Smile

Little EB thinks she is so big, and she's just so funny! She loves her big sister and trails around behind her all day long and wants to be just like her. Yesterday A dressed EB in a little dance leotard that had an attached skirt, one that she had outgrown, and said it was EB's princess dress (A is very into dressing as a princess lately - I need to forget Gymboree and just shop the Disney Store...). Anyway, that tiny princess was adorable (shocker - no picture!) and she was so pleased with herself. The other day she came walking around the corner carrying bis sister's 2 priceless bunny rabbits and had A's bedtime paci (yes, I do realize she is 4, but have you ever met her? Do YOU want to fight that battle?) in her mouth. I did a double-take - it was like seeing baby A all over again. EB didn't really understand how to hold a paci in her mouth. She would stick it in and then suck in her cheeks like she was making a fish face to try to get it to stay in, but it kept falling out. Soon it became a game and she laughed so much that the paci never had a chance of staying in. Just another way to try to be like big sis.

Lately she's also been wearing swim goggles around the house. She is fascinated with my glasses, and I think she thinks the goggles are her own glasses. She loves it! And she loves shoes and princess crowns and feather boas and is very picky about her clothes. She's so girly.

Leap of Faith

Took the plunge and announced my new venture! beasknees photos is up and running. I'm so excited because it lets me do what I love. Check out the site for more information, or visit my photo blog at www.beaskneesphotos.wordpress.com. Thanks to all my great friends and family who have been so supportive, given me so much opportunity, and have helped me out along the way. We'll see what happens!

I can hear myself think

It's too quiet around here today. It's the first official day of school, and it's different that past years with 2 kids in preschool now that I have watched my big guy walk himself through the big doors of elementary school - without me. I left the middle one in her 4-year-old preschool room (where the OLDEST kids in the school are, Mommy!), just standing there in the middle of her room taking it all in - her beloved friends, the princess dresses waiting to be put on, her name on the wall, a table full of markers - with the biggest grin on her face. Totally in her element. The little one is tucked in bed for her morning nap. Now what?

Just needed to post for myself that this is all ok - a big change but the right change. I often feel like I'm too hard on myself that we chose not to homeschool, even though I KNOW that homeschooling is not for me right now. We feel strongly that our kids give public schools a try, that there need to be strong Christian families in the schools, and that we are sending in some shining lights. But as K stood outside the car and started to cry because he wasn't sure where to go, I again questioned myself, not necessarily because I wanted to bring him back home and keep him from feeling sad, but because he's my little guy and he has to take care of himself a little bit now. This experience will be so good for him and I'm excited about all that he will learn this year, but even though the size of his clothes tell me differently, he's still my little little guy and it's just hard to send him in. Thank goodness for the nice teacher outside the carpool lane who quickly put an arm around his shoulders and walked him into the school.

So now what? I'm home in case they need me, and I have projects out the yin yang. A little distraction can't hurt, and will certainly do the fingernails some good as they can't possibly be bitten any closer to the quick! You could just say a little prayer that there are no firedrills at school today. That drama will be a post for another day.

Things that are special at great grandma's house

We spent the weekend at my grandparents' house, which is not too far from here. I love that the kids get to spend time with them and know them. Here are some of the things they love about going for visits.

Riding the sky scooter in the backyard - probably the same one I rode in the backyard, too!
This time EB was big enough to ride.

Lots of pretty flowers for this little bea to explore

home made peach ice cream - yum!
And their most favorite - the tea party! A especially looks forward to having a tea party with Great Grandma and gets to use the little china bird cups that I used to like drinking from (but when I was small they were for special "kids coffee.") There were all kinds of tiny delicious snacks, and we have discovered that EB is a BIG fan of cheetos!