In the eyes of a little boy

I was going through all the pictures on my camera the other day, and I had to laugh when I found 30+ photos of our shopping trip to BJ's taken by my Mr R.  It brought back memories of that busy Saturday.  I had worked the night before at the hospital and met my training partners (aka: friends) at the Rail Trail for our weekly Saturday run right after work.  We ran NINE miles that morning, trying to cram it in after my work night and before soccer started for my three children. With the run done, I immediately headed over to the soccer field which is conveniently hooked right next to the entrance to the Rail Trail.  Once I dragged my aching body over there, it was hand off of children time.  Jesse left to go mountain biking for the day and I took over parenting responsibilities.  Soccer is quite time consuming for us as a family of three children.  They all practice at different times, which thankfully they are all back to back and at the same field BUT it still forces us to spend three hours hanging out on the field. 

Once soccer was finally finished I decided we might as well get our grocery shopping done before heading home.  We had nearly run out of all of our basic household items (TP, paper towels, dish detergent, laundry detergent, Downy, etc....) and so a trip to BJ's was definitely in the plans----East Cost version of Costco.  I really have lucked out and feel like my kids are great shopping companions.  They do get bored after awhile, but thankfully that's where electronics come into play.  I handed the Kindle to Eli, knowing that we had a good hour of shopping ahead of us in the store.  Then Mr R got the camera, since I didn't have J's kindle and my phone battery was nearly dead.  I never even thought twice as he snapped photo after photo to his heart's content.  It wasn't until I surfed through my pictures on my SD card that I really looked at his point of view.  It made me smile to see what he sees from the back of my cart and I don't want to forget this cute photographers FIVE year old face as well as what our cart looks like stuffed full of groceries and how the store looks from the perspective of a cart riding little boy :)

 Refer to first paragraph and me running NINE miles, if you are wondering why I have running shorts on in this picture.

As part of my bribe to have well-behaved children, they were each able to pick out a slice of pizza at the end of our visit to BJ's.....well worth the cost :)

 Both of these pictures are post-Soccer, pre-BJ's in the car

The sprained ankle

Maddie came home from gymnastics complaining that her ankle hurt and hobbled to the car.  Being the nurse that I am, there were very few words of concern regarding this injury and I essentially told her to suck it up and she would be fine.  We got home and she wanted ice on it and would barely walk.  

That night she woke up and crawled to the bathroom because "it hurts so bad" to use the toilet.  When morning and school came the next day she still wasn't walking on her foot and so I figured it was time to take her to the doctor to make sure that I wasn't missing something.  It was slightly swollen and tender to palpation.  Luckily with xrays we confirmed that indeed there wasn't anything broken and it was just a sprain.  

To make Maddie feel a little better the doctor put an ace wrap on her ankle and told her she could go to school.  She was so proud of her "cast" as she called it and I'm pretty sure she played that up as much as possible at school that day.  That afternoon she went to her room for awhile and I found her "decorating the cast" with her classmates and brothers names.  I couldn't help crack a smile and take a few pictures of this debacle.  

Luckily several days later her ankle was much better and she was ready to run and tumble like usual.

 In the doctors office waiting room---she was especially excited when Natalia (our neighbor friend) showed up at the same time with her children

SILLY GIRL- I still remember how exciting injuries were when I was a child.  I am pretty sure I dreamed of having a cast for years and really wanted to break my leg so that I could have crutches.

Funny Outtakes

As my children grow bigger I am constantly entertained at the funny and not so funny things they tell me.  Here are a few phrases/conversations that I want to remember from my kids RIGHT NOW.  Some are a bit of TMI, so you can kindly skip over this post if that sort of thing doesn't appeal to you.

ELI

"Today school was WAY TOO long.  But then I peeked up and there you were Mom and it made my tummy so happy"

~

Eli: "Mom, do you have one boobie or two boobies under there?"
Me: "Ummm, there's two"
Eli: "Oh, then why do they always look so smashed together like one?"
(I don't dress/undress in front of him so apparently that's what I look like fully clothed)
~
"Mom, I went lots and lots of poopoo's.  Aren't you so proud of me?"....he couldn't understand why I really didn't want to come take a look :)
~
"Mom c'mon, we're having a baby-que tonight" (bbq)
~
On his second day of preschool when we walked through the school doors, he pumped his fist excitedly and yelled "YES!!"
~
Eli's top five small phrases he says are:
1. Oh, bugger
2. Holy Hannah!
3. That's craaazy
4. Oh my heavens
5. Oh my lands
~
And now my first official questionnaire with one of my kids (hilarious, I tell you).  I will definitely be doing this again.  Hopefully as a birthday tradition.

Eli at 3 years old:

1. How old are you?  Three

2. How old is your Mom?  Four

3. How old is your Dad?  Six

4. What makes you happy?  Drinks, candy, and a lot more stuff

5. What makes you sad?  People yelling in my school ???? After grilling him a little more, he said there is a boy in his class that is always yelling...he can't remember this particular boy's name :)

6. When do you laugh?  When I watch SuperWhy, when mommy tickles me, and when I play with stuff

7. What is your favorite show?  SuperWhy---I'm actually pretty sure it is Diego :)

8. What is your favorite color?  All of them....actually only the boy colors

9. What is your favorite book?  Spooky Old Tree---it is hilarious to read this book to him.  During each part it asks "do they dare go......." and he always says "No, no they don't" {they always do}

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?  Spiderman; not really a shocker that he has also chosen to dress up as Spiderman for Halloween this year

 The view from my couch one of the first few days of school-- I am loving all day kindergarten ♥

One of my newest friends in NH and I decided it was time to make a necessary shopping trip to Manchester to visit TARGET of course.  I almost cried with happiness when I saw the Target logo in the distance.  Eli and JJ were perfect little shopping companions during our "adventure"

ROBBY

This morning: "Mom, you're combing the front of my hair like a girl. That's just NOT going to work"
~
"Mom, fishing is a man's game".....after I asked him if I could come next time :)
~
"I'm not brave like my teacher tells me at school"---when I half dragged him up onto the stand after sacrement meeting last Sunday for their annual "Primary Practice" before the real program in a few weeks.
~
Last week he had to sit in the "take a break" chair during class one day.  When I asked him what happened he said "well, me and _______ were pretending to shoot each other with guns while my teacher was reading us a story.  I don't think she liked that very much"
~
Every day after school I have gotten in the habit of asking both of my older children what they learned that day.  Finally after about a week of this, Robby blurted out "Mom, I don't EVER learn anything at school"
~
Robby at 5 years old:

1. How old are you? Five

2. How old is your Mom? "Don't know.......ummmmm thirty"

3. How old is your Dad? Twenty

4. What makes you happy? Mostly watching tv, playing games on computer or on XBox, riding my bike

5. What makes you sad?  When Eli gets a new toy and it's special and he doesn't let me play with it, or if Eli says I can't play games that I want to

6. When do you laugh?  When people tell me jokes, and that's all

7. What is your favorite show?  Fighting movies

8. What is your favorite color? Red

9. What is your favorite book? Ummm, like Power Ranger books

10. What do you want to be when you grow up? Monster Truck Driver {for the third straight year}

 Robby has REALLY REALLY grown up this summer and changed in many ways.  He has turned into such a cool kid to hang out with, which has made saying goodbye to him each and every day that much more difficult

It is almost too cold for ice cream already, but we are clinging onto the last few days of semi-warm weather before the frost officially is here for the next 9 months :(

MADDIE

"Mom, I thought I would feel older on my birthday, but I still feel six"----she decided that by wearing dangly earrings to church that day and high heels she was definitely on her way to feeling older :)
~
The other day Maddie was looking at one of our wedding pictures and looked up and said " You know what Mom, you and Dad make a great pair" ♥
~
Maddie announced to me today that she no longer wants to be called "cute" and instead wishes that people would think she was "pretty" or "beautiful" like grown up women are called.........and she no longer wants pigtails in her hair because older girls don't wear them.

Heaven help me, this child is only SIX (I wrote this one on facebook back in August)
~
Maddie: "Mom, I have a secret to tell you that Dad will be upset if he hears"....me: "Okay, well what is it?".....Maddie: "I just found out that Jack loves me!"....me: "how do you know that".....Maddie: "because he wrote me a letter that say's so!"----gotta love second grade romance
~
Maddie: "Mom, how old do have to be to have a boyfriend?"
Me: "at least sixteen years old"
Maddie: "Oh good, I am going to save this lipstick {kid kind} until then, because I think that a boy would definitely want to kiss me if I was wearing it"......once again, heaven help me, she is STILL only seven.
~
Maddie at 7 years old:

1. How old are you? Seven

2. How old is your Mom? Thirty

3. How old is your Dad? Thirty Three

4. What makes you happy? "Is when Momma cheers me up", when we get to go to the park with ice cream

5. What makes you sad? "When Lindsay teases me" (a girl from gymnastics)

6. When do you laugh?  When Mommy tickles me

7. What is your favorite show?  Ruby Gloom

8. What is your favorite color?  The rainbow......all the colors

9. What is your favorite book?  "Let me think, all the books in my library. Such as Charlotte's Web, Kirsten books"---American Girls collection

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?  A gymnast, an artist, and a baker

 Our favorite after school play place.  Why? Because it is right next to the bus stop and is a convenient place to stop and play for awhile before heading back to our house.  I love how creative all of my kids are....they will play together for hours concocting all sorts of imaginary settings and adventures together

Maddie love love loves the wildlife and outdoors, which is a complete contradiction with how girlie she is.  She is not afraid to catch any sort of animal and has now caught three different water snakes.  As you can see she is so proud of her new friend.  Too bad the snake somehow managed to "disappear" out of her artificial habitat in a plastic bin when we were gone to dinner that night at a friends house.  She is confident she will catch a new one soon :) 

Birthday Girl

Why do birthdays have to come and go so quickly with my little one's?  I wish I could hold onto these ages just a little bit longer.  Instead they seem to melt away from me before I can really grasp the current stage we are at.

SEVEN is the new word I continuously repeat in amazement to myself.  How in the world can I have a child that is SEVEN?  I don't feel old enough to have a FIVE year old, let alone a SEVEN year old.  Alas it is true, and she now reminds repetitively that she is only 5 more years away from being able to wear makeup.

This year's birthday was particularly fun for us.  It is the last year until Miss M can be baptized and she totally knows it.  One of the benefits to being the absolute youngest in her school class is that Maddie gets to see her friends move onto to new things before her.  Her best friend at school, Eleanor, also goes to our church but is nearly a year older than Maddie.  As Maddie prepared to turn 7, she has gotten to see Eleanor turn 8 and become increasingly excited about baptism and going to activity days.  In turn Maddie has talked many times about how exciting it will be next year when she can also progress within the gospel and make her own special promises to her father in Heaven.

How grateful I am to have such a giving child.  She works so hard at keeping her bedroom spick and span and helps me around the house a lot!  She is always the one we call on to help set the table, vacuum downstairs, clean bathrooms, get out pajamas for all the kids, etc. We don't ever give her near enough credit for how much she helps us out.  She also is really good at sharing her games and treats with her brothers.  I can almost always count on the fact that she will turn around and share with them.

I am also grateful for how kind she is to other children, particularly those younger than her.  We have a neighborhood FULL of little children that are under 5 years old. Many of them adore her and constantly watch for her to "fly by" on her scooter. Whenever Miss M sees one of them she is really good about stopping and saying hello.  She will even invite some of them over to play with her and she loves the fact that she can mother them.  (her brothers balk at her doing this with them).  She is also kind to the other kids her age and I rarely hear other children complain that she said something unkind to them.

Although she can be sassy at times, I feel like Maddie has a heart of gold.  She really wants to do what is right. I am so grateful to have this little girl in my life.  I pray that I will continue to be a better mother to her and my other two children.  I feel so lucky to be entrusted the responsibility to raise Miss M in this life and hope that I can live up to this gift that has been given to me. 

TP Bowling Night

 One of the things that drew us to picking Dartmouth College for Jesse's MBA above some of the other Ivy League schools was their community atmosphere.  We loved how many activities they put together, the family involvement within the program and I of course fell in love with the TP program (Tuck Partner).  They truly haven't disappointed us yet.  There is always more than enough activities to participate in....to the point I could probably be gone 4 nights a week if I wanted to/was able to. 

 One of the funnest nights yet this year, was our Bowling night we had recently.  As noted from the picture above, quite a few people showed up and we had tons of fun spending time with one another and bowling competitively (yeah right).  

I announced to my group that I was probably the worst bowler out there and then proceeded to bowl several strikes and spares in a row---definitely a first for me.  Unfortunately my luck didn't maintain, but I still managed to break into the 100's and ended up in second place with my group.  Thank goodness my merits are not based on my bowling expertise because second round I completely choked and brought my normal self right back front and center.

Me with one of my new besties Candace.  Her husband is also a Tuck student, but one year behind us.

All in all a fun night and I am already looking forward to the next night out!

First Day of School: Take 2

Robby's first day of Kindergarten was a happy/sad day for me as a mother.  I was so proud of him as he marched out of the house with his backpack firmly in place, but so devastated to say goodbye to my child for an entire day.  He also experienced a host of emotions that ranged from excited to anxious, happy yet sad, confident at times but also intimidated, brave but also scared.  As we took pictures outside he couldn't stop grinning and giving us "thumbs-up" about going to school.  Once we arrived at school and headed through the grass over to the door by his classroom he tail-spinned into full-blown panic mode.  He dug his heels into the ground and shook his head while saying "No, no, no, no" while I replied "Yes, yes, yes, yes".  I ended up dragging all the way across the field and over to the classroom continuously reminding how much fun he would have. He calmed down again as we entered his classroom and saw all the fun things to do.  He stayed calm all the way until it was time for me to leave.  After another thumbs up from the little guy, I walked over to the classroom door feeling quite proud of myself.  Then I stupidly turned around to see him standing by his desk, chin down and alligator tears pouring out of his eyes down his cheeks.  I nearly lost it to see him that way.  After a few more reassuring hugs and kisses I was out the door for good.  It was pretty weird to spend the rest of the day with only one child at home, I haven't done this since Maddie was a baby.  I almost felt childless all day because Eli was soo incredibly easy on his own.  Finally it was time to head over to the bus stop to pick up the big kids.  I was anxious to hear how the first day of school went for Robby.  It was amazing just how TIRED Robby looked as he climbed off the bus, he was absolutely beat.  It sounded like the first day went well and he was excited that Maddie was there at recess and after school.  I felt so grateful for an older sibling as she told me how Robby played soccer with her and her second grade  friends and how she made sure he sat next to her on the bus.  After getting one day under out belts, I am confident that this is going to be a good school year for all!!

Maddie is always begging to have her picture taken :)

Kindergarten Orientation

My sweet friend took these pictures of us at Kindergarten Orientation night.  Once again I am so thankful to have friends with a camera always ready; it makes up for my total lack of clicking pictures.  Robby was a little nervous gearing up to head to school ALL DAY so it was great to have an evening that he could go and meet his new school class, teachers and principal.  We had pizza and treats and then did a walk through his new school classroom.  I can't say that he is now totally prepared, but it's still a step in the right direction.

Another nice thing that they do in the Lebanon School District is that the teachers for Kindergarten and Preschool make home visits to each of the children's houses.  It was kind of time consuming and took more work trying to figure out when they could come over, but it was also great to have the boys meet their teachers on their own and to be able to give a comprehensive history about each of them.  Robby is excited to have Miss Reinsel {and I am told that she is phenomenal with children that need structure----that would be Robby}.  Eli had Miss McCarthy, who is a sweet young teacher that is new to the school.  I think she will also be a great fit for him, he thrives around loving people. 

Now we just need to survive the First Day of School without too many tears.....

*I love looking at Robby's handwriting pre-Kindergarten.  It will be fun to see the changes over the course of the year.

Montshire Museum {again}

I don't think I could adequately describe just how much we have enjoyed living so close to the Montshire Museum. 

Purchasing annual passes for the second year in a row has been one of our best places to spend our money.

We have been more than enough times to compensate for these passes.

 It has been my salvation on gymnastics days.  

Twice a week, we have 1.5 hours to kill while Maddie is at gymnastics.  

Long enough that staying and watching is a pain with the boys, but short of enough that it is difficult to really go somewhere that is not right by gymnastics lessons.

We are close enough that we can run home for about 45 minutes, but it is also the perfect amount of time to run to our favorite museum for an hour.  

The boys run around like crazy and never seem to tire of this place. 

We expend lots of energy = tired children = go to sleep quicker at night

 It's not the biggest children's museum for sure.

  But perfectly sized for four and five year old little boys. 

So thank you Montshire Museum for being our "Go-To" place on gymnastics days and cold, rainy days

Montshire Museum

Anyone who lives anywhere in the general Upper Valley knows what the Montshire Museum is.  It's not the largest or grandest children's museum out there, but it is local, easy to park and walk in, affordable with an annual pass and there's always something new or different for the kids to check out.  Last year with Maddie gone to school all day and then at gymnastics twice a week in the afternoon, this was a regular hang out for the boys and I.  Now that Robby is going to be in school all day, I am sure he won't be coming with me quite as frequently but for now we are trying to enjoy every little bit we can.  We had a fairly warm Labor Day this year and the children and I loaded up and spent the afternoon in the outside water play area.  This will probably be out last time in their splash area until next year!

I love this pipe water area that they have.  It inspires creativity, fun, spontaneity, and sharing.  My boys are always creating new arrangements and this entertains them for hours.

*Maddie WAS with us at the museum but for some reason I didn't take any pictures of her.....probably a first ever since we all know how picture hungry she gets :)