Independence Day 2013

Don't have a heart attack now, but I'm going to post actual SAME DAY EVENTS, this may never have happened on the blog (and don't expect it to happen again any time soon) but I have a few minutes and I took a few pictures and hopefully I can make this happen before the clock strikes midnight.

This morning, I was completely unprepared for it to be the Fourth of July.  We had a party to go to, I had nothing to bring.  I'd dragged the bin of decorations out, and done nothing with them.  I'd bought no cute matching Old Navy tee shirts, had not a thing pinned on Pinterest, and was pretty much a Fourth of July Flunkie.

But Marc went to play golf, and Maeve took a two hour nap, and the big kids were happy to watch some extra TV.  That's really all it takes - one little window of opportunity can really make a difference!

I pulled festive outfits together from what we already owned, slapped a wreath on the front door and ripped out the fake pussy willows in the urns in favor of some fake geraniums (I've given up ever trying to keep anything alive out there - it gets so hot the paint on the front door blisters, there's no way a petunia or pansy could survive it!).  My step ladder didn't go high enough to hang the bunting, so instead I tossed it on the pram and wished I had a parade to walk in it was so cute.

And all is right with the world again (save for the fact that the dishwasher never got emptied and the laundry never got folded, and I'm not sure I actually fed anyone lunch?)

I can't tell which of these pics of all four kids is the best (or the worst?) but I was just happy they all looked at the same time.  That in itself was a herculean feat!

Here's Maeve, all decked out in the cutest outfit I ever bought from Baby Gap.

With hand me down socks from her big brother Jack.

Oh yes I did save those bad boys for 11 years...they're in perfect shape!!

And did I mention that this perfect outfit from Baby Gap was actually bought circa 2007?

I bought it for my cousin Heather's baby girl Chloe and procrastinated getting it mailed until it was too late and she'd outgrown it.

And then I decided it was so sweet that I was going to save it for the baby girl I was going to have someday (Molly was already two and too big for it.)

I even went back to Baby Gap and bought Molly a matching top when it was on clearance in a much bigger size than she wore so that she would be able to coordinate with my future imaginary baby girl.

Let's just say I have a preeettty strong imagination that somehow seems to work well.

And God is good. ;-)

Her eyelashes are getting so long!

And she did so well sitting in the pram. 

She just needs that little bit of support on her back and to the sides and she will contentedly sit for a long while.

She is just the darlingest Liberty Baby ever!

Marc was gone and my tripod went missing, so thank goodness for camera phones that reverse direction so you can take pictures of yourself!

 Our neighbors, the Singers, have the best 4th of July party and we've gone for three summers in a row now.  While the kids watched TV this morning, I managed to whip up some no-bake oreo cheesecakes.  It's really all about the packaging - the recipe is so easy and quick, but the mini cups and spoons (from Party City) are what make it look like a million bucks.

I rounded out the tray with a few storebought nut-free cotton candy cupcakes.

The reason I always make dessert is so that Ben won't feel gypped because he can't eat the desserts on account of his tree nut allergy.  The Singers 5 year old Colin is also allergic to nuts, so it's a win-win all around.

  

So Maeve got to walk in the Baby Bjorn and the desserts got a ride in the pram!

 Once we delivered the desserts, she was happy to be back sitting pretty.

The pram came in handy when nap time came let me tell you!  It's like a bed on wheels - so much nicer than a car seat on wheels!

She had her favorite blanket and her noise machine and drifted right off to dreamland.  

 I was always so jealous of friends whose babies would do this, and now I have one!

Meanwhile, the big kids were having a grand old time in the Singer's pool.

After six hours or so it was time to go home and get changed for the nighttime fireworks.

 i

Maeve went to bed so I stayed home while Marc took the kids back to the party.

I didn't miss the fireworks though!

Finally the kids came home exhausted and ready for bed.

And I am too!

Goodnight blogland, and Happy Fourth of July!

End of Year Teacher Gifts

I know I said "tomorrow" but anyone who knows me knows that "tomorrow" is a euphemism for "someday soon....I hope...I think....maybe?"

And today is that day!

Like I said in "yesterday's" post, I wanted to do something special for Ben's preschool teachers.  Not only because they are so special, but because I needed to commemorate something important.  You see, Ben's class will be the very last class, EVER, to graduate from the Wigwam.

The sweet, cozy, dear, one room schoolhouse, that is the only one of it's kind in the land of Naperville where everything is supersized...the Wigwam will be no more.  The city is building a massive, amazing, new nature center to benefit the entire area and to include two new preschool classes.  And the Wigwam is standing right on that Nature Center's parking lot.  

So the Wigwam...it is slated for demolition.  (cue the tears!!!)

Someone needed to make sure that this place is not forgotten, and that someone was yours truly.  I came up with some pretty good ideas, but what I needed was FUNDING.  So I set out to get the other parents in on a 'group gift' that I would gladly orchestrate (muahahahaha).

About half of the parents joined me, donating $10 per teacher, for a total of $200 ($100 per teacher).  Half of that money went to Visa gift cards for each teacher, but the rest went to fund my imagination.  See, I had this idea of a "Toadstool" themed gift basket, since our program at the Wigwam is called Toadstools and Pollywogs.  

I was SO HAPPY with the way it turned out!  I started out with a pot of perennial shasta daisies, a. because they are indestructible and b. because I knew the kids would be singing "I'm a little daisy" at the graduation ceremony (to the tune of I'm a little teapot) and I'd composed a poem with alternate words to the song to use as the card with the gift.  I wrapped it up in heavy duty wrapping paper (from Homegoods), tied it with a tulle bow and turned the gift card into a garden stake.

See?  A bamboo skewer left over from some fruit kabob making,
along with a strip of packing tape (which I always have on hand because I consistently forget mine at home, requiring me to purchase a new roll every time I mail anything)
...et voila!

Next I added some adorable toadstool garden chimes I found on Amazon.

The smoke and mirrors comes with the packaging...you can wrap anything up nicely and make it look like it came from a boutique.  Here's how they look wrapped up in polka dot wrapping paper (left over from two Christmases ago) with a raffia bow and some homemade gift tags (made from the brown envelopes and photo paper that came free with my printer ink)

I picked up some adorable woven baskets from Homegoods for $12.99 apiece and tucked everything inside with the piece de resistance...a framed photo of our beloved Wigwam.

I took the shot below at sunset, and then doctored it up in Photoshop.

I added a blue sky, a sunflare and a poignant title as finishing touches.

Because magic really did happen here.
(sniff)

As a finishing touch, I wrapped the basket in cellophane and tied a big red polka dot bow at the top, along with the poem I'd written.  Somehow in the INSANITY that was graduation morning, I forgot to snap a picture of this, but in my opinion, cellophane is KEY to making any gift look fancy.  It's not just for the Easter Bunny you know!

Here's a jpg of the card (I took a screenshot of the Word doc, so it's hazy) but you can take my word that it was much cuter printed out and attached to the gift with ribbon...

The fun didn't end there though, because I also had Ben's "Chidlren's Day Out" teachers Miss Marcia and Miss Jackie to thank.  Ben was only with them one day a week, but he just adored them and they had such an impact on him - he would always come home smarter and curiouser after a morning at "Knox" (the program was held in Knox Presbyterian Church, Knox for short).

These ladies were so special to Ben!
(Miss Marcia is on the left and Miss Jackie on the right)

There was no group gift this time, so I set my budget at $15 per teacher.  I gave them each a gift card plus a pretty gerbera daisy plant, all wrapped up like I'd wrapped the shasta daisies.



More cellophane and some curling ribbon I've had since Jack's 6th birthday party
(I kid you not, a big spool of that stuff lasts forever!)

The whole package was designed so I could attach this sappy card to it
(I'm a girl who loves a themed gift - I can't help it!)

From what I've read and heard from my teacher friends, the best thing you can give a teacher is a heartfelt thank you showing that you appreciate what they do each day.  The next best thing is a gift card because they have a closet full of knick knacks, pinterest-type projects and scented lotions already, not to mention more homemade goodies than one person can eat before they spoil.

Knowing my teacher friends as I do, I know that the Visa gift cards we gave the teachers this year will likely be used on their classrooms to buy things that aren't in the school's budgets...because that's how teachers roll.

As for Jack and Molly's teachers?  They got handwritten notes from the kids with a gift card.  Definitely not 'pinterest worthy',  but I think we hit the mark, and that all the kids' teachers know how special we think they are.

Catchup Tuesday: Ben is a Preschool Graduate!

Way back in May (you know like a month ago but it seems like five years ago now that we've been on summer time for eight days?)  Well, back in May, a very special little boy had a very special celebration.

Ben graduated from preschool!

Not only did he graduate, but he graduated after a WONDERFUL, fabulous, amazing year.  

The boy who at age 3 cried every second he spent at preschool, so much that I pulled him OUT...the boy who at age 4 had to be bribed every single school day with the reward of  a Dunkin' donut if he made it through the two hours without hitting someone...well that little boy finally, BLESSEDLY matured, and blossomed into a five year old who LOVES to go to school.  Who can't wait to tell his teachers something new, or ask an inventive question, or get his hands dirty in a project, or help a friend when they're having a rough day, or come home and tell Mom and Dad and Jack and Molly all about his adventures at Toadstools & Pollywogs.

It was a GOOD year.  

And to celebrate this special guy on his graduation day, knowing that Daddy was away on a business trip (and very disappointed that he couldn't be there) I kept Jack and Molly out of school for the morning so they could cheer on the little dude who has cheered them on as he's been schlepped to all of their events over his entire life.

And to make it even more special, Auntie Ulia and cousin Cameron came too!

The kids walked out to Pomp and Circumstance as their misty-eyed families looked on

They sang a few adorable songs.  Songs I've spent the entire day trying to locate in the pile of SD cards from my video camera, to no avail.  But you bet your bippy they were cute!  

I'm a little daisy

tall and slim

Here is my petal

here is my stem

I mean, come on!  How cute is that?

 They also sang the Rock & Roll ABCs

with hand motions and cool accessories.

They sang their school song one last, heartbreaking time...
(to the tune of "You are My Sunshine")

"We are the Toadstools and Sunny Days Preschool

We love to play, sing, and do art too

You'll never know how much we learn here

With our teachers, friends, and you."

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

(I was blubbering on the inside, but managed to hold it together on the outside)

Then it was time for each child to receive their diploma and tell the crowd what they wanted to be when they grew up.

When I say that Ben tells us every day what he's going to be or do when he grows up,

I AM NOT KIDDING!

Ben spends literally HOURS every day, pacing in circles, telling everyone what he is going to build/design/film/produce/create/invent/sell/be/do when he grows up.

Detailed, INTRICATE plans for everything from a toy factory to a Ghostbusters sequel.  Plans for how to be both an astronout AND a lifeguard at the same time.  Plans for how to film, direct and act in his  own movies.  Plans for dozens upon dozens of new and unique action figures.  For chemical compounds that do 'magical' things.  For creatures and monsters and vehicles and the list goes on and on and on...

So it was with great interest that I waited to see which career he'd chosen as the one to say into the microphone.

Would it be 

LIFEGUARD?

SCIENTIST?

ASTRONAUT?

ACTOR?

DIRECTOR?

INVENTOR?

When the microphone was handed over to him, he stood with confidence and told his audience....

"I want to have a hose and water plants."

Ba dump bump!!

I'm pretty sure he made that one up on the way to the podium - what a HAM!!

Thankfully, Ms. Janet and Ms. Michelle loved our little ham a whole bunch.

And we loved them a whole lot too.

I wanted to do something special for them, especially Ms. Janet who has been with Ben for two years now.  So I twisted arms and got a group gift going in order to fund my insanity.

(more on that tomorrow).

Then graduation was over and it was time to PICNIC!

Auntie Ulia made such a wonderful lunch to share, and special cookies for the kids too!

Only, just like in a Little Critter book...the puddles and the open field proved to be too much temptation and we just ended up chasing them around like madwomen for an hour.

I didn't even try to stop them because I knew resistance was futile.

Okay, that's a lie, I totally tried to stop them and FAILED.
At some point we just tried to mitigate the damage.

Finally it was time to go with our muddy, sweaty, happy kids.

Ben wanted to take one last look around the school that's been home to him for the last two years.

(Cameron wanted to check it out too)

Goodbye Wigwam, we'll miss you!!

Thanks for the memories, and thanks for the slideshow to remember them by, 

even if Mommy and Ben both cried while watching it.

(be warned, the music will do you in!)

CONGRATULATIONS BEN!!

We are so proud of you, and how much you've grown and learned at Toadstools and Pollywogs.

We hope you'll always be as curious and imaginative as you are right now!

Manic Monday

I used to look forward to those easy days of summer, when the schedule loosened up and spontaneity reigned (in between babies' and preschoolers naps that is).

Those days are GONE, baby, GONE.

Because while a preschooler and toddler or two would be entertained with, well just about anything, a sixth grader, third grader and kindergartener have this to say...

MOM....I'M BORED!

Which is why, this summer, even with a 5 month old in tow, 

I decided to sign the three big 'uns up for Swim Team! 

Marc told me I was 1000% insane for even thinking it.  And he may be right.  But I knew that the cost of not being up and out of the house bright and early each day would be the constant drone of...

"Moooom, there's nobody outside to play with!"

"It's too hoooooooot!"

"Can I play on the computer?"

"Can I watch TV?"

"Can I play on the iPad?"

"Can I use an app on your phone?"

And I would go slowly (or quickly) insane.

So Swim Team is the cornerstone of our summer, and we are up and at 'em even earlier than we were on school days, to my shock and horror.  Jack bikes to his practice at 8:15am because while Jack and Ben still rise at the crack of dawn, no amount of poking and prodding can get Molly out of bed before 8:30.  

Molly and Ben have practice at 9:15 and we usually show up, at a breakneck run, at 9:16.  But we're THERE, which is half the battle.  With private lessons for Molly and Ben now starting after practice on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, our mornings are pretty well spoken for, and we all come home good and tired - which is important to ward off the bickering and house-trashing that occurs when too much energy is trapped inside those skinny little bodies of theirs.

So today, our day looks like this...

The white board came out of hiding because I need it to keep me on track!
I like it so much I might even keep it out for the school year.

We kind of get the best of both worlds because even though Jack is doing karate 3 times a week and golf twice, our afternoons from 11-5 are free to do what we please.  I'm trying to sneak in an adventure day, when we blow off everything and just go someplace fun on our bucket list...but we'll have to wait and see if that ever moves beyond the idea stage!

Summer 2013

Two weeks down, ten to go!

I need a nap already!

Summer Buzz....

Mother Nature may not have her act together

(and goodness knows I can empathize with her on that!)

but we're carrying on here pretending it's summer anyway.

The boys got their "easy care" summer buzzes.

And Ben is sporting one heck of a Kool Aid mustache.

He's also sporting one heck of a dramatic flair...

Yes, swim team practice was cancelled because it was only 50 degrees.

He wore his goggles anyway.

To the grocery store.

And then he pretended to squeal out of the parking lot with the moto-cart.

Oh man, this kid is a trip.

A cuddly, trouble finding, funny as all get out TRIP.

Entourage

A certain little someone has developed an entourage!  Yesterday, while Ben was hard at work breaking every rule ever made, Molly and her friends choreographed a dance for Maeve's entertainment.

 

 

 

Then while Maeve napped this afternoon, they planned a party for her.  They made a sign with her name on it, and went around the neighborhood collecting flower petals (some with permission, some without - oops!) 

 

When Maeve woke up, there were six neighbor kids waiting to take her for a walk.  Here are Kayden and Sela ready for their turn at the wheel.

 

 

 

Here is the celebrity, groggy from a two hour siesta, but ready for her chariot.

 

 

 

 

The flower petals were strewn down the sidewalk in front of her as she was walked.

Molly and Avery were her dedicated flower girls.

 

 

 

 

 

 Here's the whole crew...

 

L to R: Sela, Gianna, Avery, Vince, Kaden (peeking from behind Vince), Chelsea, and Molly

 

 

In this day and age of organized, supervised activities, where many kids never get time to actually PLAY, I was so tickled to see these kids acting like my friends and I did at their age.   My best friend Dianne and I used to wait outside on the porch of our neighbors the Josselin's house every afternoon because Mrs. Josselin would let us feed baby Amy her lunch.  I'm pretty sure we stalked their house for an entire summer, begging to hold Amy, feed her, walk her, change her, etc.

 

One of my biggest hopes in having a baby so much younger than her sibs, is that they'll be able to tap into their maternal and paternal sides so that when they think of their future, family is an important part of their dreams.   Not some theoretical ideal of "Yeah, I want a kid someday, doesn't everyone?", but a real, visceral need to love a child (or children!) of their own because they remember how magical it is to love and be loved by a sweet little baby like Maeve.

A (half) Day of Summer Vacation...This is My LIfe

Today is the second full day of summer vacation.  Mother Nature clearly didn't get this memo because it was 52 degrees this morning!

I don't want to keep Ben locked up in the house all summer, but I also can't be his bodyguard 24/7 because of Maeve.  So I've been trying to loosen the reigns a bit and let him have some freedom.

He has four rules;

 

1. Don't leave the house without permission

2. Keep your shoes on at all times

3. Don't go in anyone's house without permission or into any off-limits areas like the drainage ditch, construction site, or off of our street.

4. Don't eat anything that Mommy and Daddy don't give you or tell you is okay to eat

 

In the three hours between noon and 3pm today while he was partially supervised by yours truly, he managed to;

• Go into his friend Samir's house without permission

• Get ratted out by our neighborhood tattle-tale for throwing rocks in the construction site across the street

• Wander down to the drainage ditch at the end of the street and come home shoeless and covered in mud up to his chest

• (After being scrubbed clean, wrapped in a towel and handed his clothes so that Mommy could feed Maeve) sneak out to his friend Jack's house across the street NEKKID AS A JAYBIRD under his pink towel to see if he wanted to play.

• (While Mommy was out cleaning up the driveway and he was supposed to stay inside) find a dead bird in the back yard, get a shovel and throw the bird over the fence into our neighbor's yard.

Oh.  Boy.
 

If today was any indication...it's going to be a VERY interesting summer!