S Club Mama

Summer is winding down (although we still have a whole month including a vacation!), so I thought I should share some of our highlights into June. Big A finally shaved in May (he'd been growing this beast - I mean, beard - since October). He did not shave it for me, although I'd told him I was growing tired of it. I never minded it, I just missed his face. Isn't it a lovely face? We grew Duck Dynasty fever in a trip to Wal-mart with my parents. I think I should grow a beard. Yes? No? This kid makes a cute Scooby-Doo and if I can bribe his big brother, these will be our family costumes this Halloween. However, Moose insists he's going to be Spiderman again (not sure if Spiderman will fit though...). Moose lost 4 teeth. The bottom two and the top two. Some of the words he says are just precious without teeth. And he can now whistle. Squirt passed level 1 and 2 in swimming lessons. He did great! Moose learned to swim across th...

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a great swimmer. I wish I were; have you ever watched someone who can really swim? It's so beautiful and graceful. I am not. I could probably save myself in an emergency (maybe), but I don't know any strokes or anything to move nicely in the water like that. However, it's been such fun this summer because my boys did so well in swimming lessons. Squirt passed the first two levels and Moose was pretty close to passing level 3 (which I hear is the hardest?). He just can't tread (also doesn't care to because he wants to go underwater...), do the butterfly well enough, or dive. Next year hopefully. And as long as they can swim, I don't mind if they pass such-and-such test, to be honest. I love being in the water with them. Racing them across the pool (the short way), splashing, playing shark or tickling them underwater. It's been such fun. The one thing that really makes me sad at the pool is moms who sit on the ...

Big A and our friend Nick took their big boys camping before school started. This is the second year they've done this and I believe this one was a success, too. So thankful to have great friends nearby! While we spent the majority of our vacation with my parents, we took a night to visit some friends from college. It was fun to get all the kids together - getting a picture of them together was something else. :) It was really a joy to see their families growing! We also hit up a local splash pad. The boys absolutely LOVED this!!! They still ask to go back. I'll have to share our Halsey pictures again soon. Did you do anything fun this summer??

Moose's first t-ball game! Moose's first hit at his game! Moose got home!!  The season was short (3 practices, 2 games), but he had fun. It was hot for him so he got upset quite a bit, especially at the games.  We'll see if this is what we do next summer. The boys learned that if you push Mommy's patience too far, you get to clean. So far, they have cleaned (started cleaning bc I know they can't really do it) the bathroom floor/tub (shown) and the dining room and kitchen floors. They do a pretty good job for 2 and 4/5. We were so blessed to be invited to go swimming with the Ayers family. They are missionaries at a seminary in Haiti and our church helps support them and some of their seminary students. Stacy's blog is such a blessing! I was so thrilled to meet her (for real as we've briefly met before).  Below is Squirt. He was real tired from swimming. Our little rogue garden has been struggling for lack...

it's not officially summer until I've had my sweet corn which means it's been a few years since it's been summer...

Wow! It's been hot here! I had a friend ask me before church how I keep my two boys entertained during the day. Made me think about it, for sure, so I thought I'd share my ideas. - We head to the park early (8-10am) - We hit the air conditioned library - I had the boys hit the thrift store with me (I shopped for clothes, they played in the toys) - They play trains, cars - the norm around here - We have a great easel that we put to good use (thanks Jaesi!) - watercolor paints (thanks Gina!) - although to be honest, my boys paint one picture and are done but it helps a lot - read books - lots and lots of books. Don't like reading kid books? Read them what you're reading! The Bible, a magazine. As long as it's not inappropriate, they are all words to them. - bounce house/ball pit (thanks Mom and Amber!) - some time this week I'm going to pull out the slip n' slide in the evening; we have some great shade in the early evening. - Audio books - get CDs ...

We try to be relaxed during the summer (and we're pretty relaxed in fall, winter, & spring, too), especially as far as our schedules are concerned. However, I do have some resolutions: 1. go to the pool at least 3 times (we've gone a total of 0 times the past 2 summers). 2. read at least 3 books a month (for myself). 3. try to keep tv time for the boys <1 hour a day plus 1 full-length film per week (except during long travel times in the van). 4. keep Moose up at least one night to stargaze and look at fireflies. 5. take 1 nap a week (for me). 6. do at least 15 minutes of school stuff with Moose 3-4 days a week. 7. try to teach Squirt 3 colors (red, blue, yellow). 8. find a sitter for July 16 so Big A & I can go to a wedding by ourselves. 9. take Moose to his first movie = Cars 2 (are you surprised?). 10. throw a pretty sweet birthday party for my boys! What do you want to get done this summer?

Apparently my "discouraged" post disappeared - which is fine. Today has been difficult too but I'm handling it much better. I just need to repeat my little mantra "impatience is a waste of energy" (over and over and over). It really is. I consider impatience in the same realm as worry. And, unfortunately, I struggle with both of those. However, with the help of our Good Lord, I am overcoming!! I am still a little apprehensive about this summer with Moose. I've been out of a routine, not working on school things at home...becoming the type of mom who lets others teach her kid, which is not the type of mom I want to be (if you are, that's your choice, I'm just saying that I want to be very involved). So I couldn't sleep last night and got up to make a master to-do list. I got a very small portion done today, but have lots of work to do in the coming weeks to prepare for summer! I have all of my education/homeschool things sitting on our dinner ...

Saturday was so beautiful, I couldn't resist going outside with Moose while the other two took a late nap. I thought coloring with chalk would be a lot of fun; I always love how sidewalks look after they've been colored on. Here's the reality: I can't draw any better than I could in kindergarten. But I tried for my son's sake.  Here's the challenge: can you guess who all of these are? Moose admiring my abilities. #1: these guys are just friends, no matter what you see on You Tube. #2: All monsters. #3: he's big and he's yellow, he's quite a nice fellow... #4: Bouncing's what he does best. #5: This guy is cuddly, little, loveable, wrapped in fur. He's _____-the-____. #6: Did you hear about the kid who wanted to know everything about everything? That's him! #7: Not the ones from Madagascar but from the above show. #8: Also from show #6 #9: The ladies from show #6 #10: evidence I can't draw but she...