You're not leaving gaps

The boys love to talk - all three prefer to have your undivided attention at all times so they can tell you about Catan or jungle magic or the spaceship our house has turned into or just so they can babble to you. In order to keep the peace, we try to take turns and ask the boys for wait for a pause before they start talking. We don't always do a good job of this and this often leads to kids talking louder and louder over each other. Or wailing that "you're not leaving gaps". A work in progress.

Things that make me happy

Waking up late and still making it to school on time.

Getting the kids to move quick by pretending we're in the jungle that turns into me signing a contract in order to learn jungle magic that afternoon.

Riding the train and sitting with they boys and all of us reading.

Mr. 7 telling me he's very sorry that I bonked my head and wanting to know if there's anything he can do to make me feel better.

Hearing that the sink is leaking (a lot) and thinking I need to call a plumber but discovering a loose connection by just tracing all the hoses and fixing it myself (I hope).

Hearing Mr. 5 and Mr. 7 tell me about their day - especially when it's the best day ever (which is actually a good many of their days).

Mr. 1 snuggling up to me and saying "Nigh-Night" to every page of Goodnight Moon.

And getting more than 2 continuous hours of sleep (at least that's what I hope will make me happy tonight).

Our new soccer star

Today was Mr. 5's first day of soccer. We decided one sport and one music lesson per child was all we could manage so we're playing soccer and taking piano lessons this fall. Mr.5 has been on the sidelines for 2 years so he was very excited to get to play today. He loved putting on shin guards and cleats and he asked me to take his picture when he was all suited up!
 

He's on the gold team this year which is easy to spot even from the far side of the field. A very useful feature for finding your team in a sea of 5 year old soccer player. Mr. 5 played well. During the scrimmage at the end he really wanted to be goalie. Mr.7's team has goalies this year for the first time and Mr. 5 loved the idea. Unfortunately there are no goalies in kindergarten and Mr. 5 was very vocal in his decision to play goalie. This did not go over well with the other team's coach or many of the kids. 5 year olds are big rule followers - especially if it means getting to authoritatively tell another kid the rules.
 
 

Mr. 1 spent the game on the sidelines exploring acorns and dirt, a perfect activity for a fall morning.
 

Mr. 7 and the Dad spent the time playing a new game, Innovation, which has taken our house by storm this weekend. Seems to be a winner!

So big

 

Mr.1 is talking more each day. He can very clearly say apple and asked for an apple about 5 times tonight. When offered the asked for apple, most of the time he would shake his head no and smile. Glad to be understood at last.

School Days

 
 
 

Today was the first day of school - the first day of kindergarten for Mr. 5. He was super excited and told me that he didn't need me to go into the room with him. He knew what to do and where to go after watching his big brother for the past 2 years but I asked him if I could go anyways. I needed to be there, to help him, even if he didn't really need my help. So he kindly allowed his mom to follow him into the classroom, watch him put his backpack away, sign in, and sit down at his desk like he's been doing it forever. He was so ready for this day and I still had butterflies in my stomach all day for him. Mr. 7 is not necessarily fond of big crowds and I think the first day back is always a bit stressful for him. It's a new teacher and quite a few new kids in his class (it's a small school but most of the boys from his class last year are upstairs in the other second grade class). He doesn't say so but starting the new year is hard and even this pro was nervous.

I picked the boys up after school. My clinic time had been moved and it wasn't the easiest thing to do - to tell them that I had to leave at 3pm to pick up the kids. For 3 years I had to be at work but now I could go but it means disappointing people at work which is hard. But I'm learning day by day to finally put my family first.

The boys were overflowing with excitement about their day. Mr. 5 said that the day was "awesome" and Mr. 7 said that everything was his favorite. I heard about morning meeting and jobs and recess and I think it was a great day for everyone.

This year we're trying to focus on being a good friend and a respectful student. I don't worry about the academic side - our boys love to read and learn - but they often get lost in their own world and Mr. 7 especialy has a hard time focusing on what someone else thinks is important rather than what he wants to do. My challenge to him was to respond to each teacher or friend that says hello with a hello and a question - about their day, their summer, anything that makes it clear that they are an important person and someone who has interesting things to say. This is really where I hope the boys will grow this year. They love to talk but how well can they listen. Actually that should be my challenge too.

Marblehead

 
 
 

We've had a gorgeous Labor Day weekend with perfect fall New England weather - high 70s to 80s and blue skies. Grandma and Grandpa are here visiting so we've used them as a wonderful excuse to get out for some exploring. When my pager's not going off that is (I'm on call and it's been a bit busy - although home call with a pager is quite a change from 30 shifts as a resident).

On Saturday we drove up to Marblehead and climbed Castle Rock. The boys were hoping Hurricane Earl would bring us some big crashing waves but other than one soaking of the mom and small one we weren't impressed (I don't think Earl is a very inspiring name for a hurricane - although looking back over the decade most of the big hurricanes didn't have grand names. Ike (2008) and Ivan (2004) are my favorites - can you have favorite destructive weather events causing billions of dollars of damage?). We also managed to sneak in some beach time. On our way across town to check out the old fort we stumbled on the Spirit of 76. We had no idea it was there - we were just driving by and saw the sign. There was even this wonderful man, the facilities manager for Abbott Hall where it's kept, who told us all about the painting and the history of Marblehead. The boys asked great questions and seemed appropriate awed by this reflection of American patriotism. We talked about the Revolutionary War and the colonies. A great discovery!

Guess who set the table?

 

I'll give you a hint - he can barely see the top so it's hard to get the plates in the right place!

Let the games begin

 

This summer has been the true advent of family games. Mr. 7 is addicted and will do just about anything in order to get to play a game of Dominion or Settlers of Catan. Mr. 5 also enjoys a good game but not with the same enthusiasm of his brother. Mr. 1 would of course love to play but given that we don't paticularly want our cards chewed on or all the pieces placed in random places around the house, we often wait until he's in bed before we playing. This has been fine during the summer when we've often gotten the older boys in bed around 9:30pm due to our late night games. However, with school starting this week we're going to have to find a new time to play games or mornings in our house are not going to be pleasant. We won't be so ready to rise and shine and get our the door in time! Even though it's made for some late bedtimes, we've had so much fun all playing together. Mr. 7 is quite the shark - don't let his monologue distract you because he has complicated strategy and you'd better pay attention. Although Dominion has been the clear winner this summer (currently the boys are saving their allowance for the next expansion), Mr. 7 has recently discovered Settlers of Catan and I think we may have a new favorite. There's also Race for the Galaxy - a game that involves too many rules for a distracted mom to follow - and Pandemic which is a wonderful cooperative game. Having big kids is certainly lots of fun although it does keep me from getting any work done in the evenings!

Helping in the kitchen

 

Setting the example

 
 
 
 

Learning the joy of a good book.

Wearing out Mr. 1

 
 
 
 

Babies

 

Mr. 5 loves babies and is always eager to make them smile. Sometimes he forgets his own strength but it's all in the name of love.

George's Island

 
 
 

Last month we spent a beautiful Saturday exploriing out on George's Island. It's hard to beat an old fort to explore, waves crashing on the beach, skipping rocks, picnic lunch, and good friends to share it all with.

September

 

It's hard to believe summer is over but here we are with school starting this week. It's been a wonderful summer for the boys with much needed rest. The boys imaginations have been in full gear as evidenced by the hundreds of pieces of paper and index cards that we've used.

And we've read lots of wonderful books. Mr. 5 discovered Commander Toad and has read al 11 books. Mr. 7 read From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and the Mysterious Benedict Society and of course many many non-fiction books.

The fall is always a time filled with promise and we can't wait to see what it holds.