Summer Has Arrived!

Can they go back yet?  Can they?  Pretty please!  Yeah, it's been a bit of an adjustment around here.  I could sugar coat it and write about how wonderful it has been to have all four children home all day long.  It would be a blatant lie.  A whoppers of all whoppers.  I'm not all about our life being "blog perfect" and this last week has been excruciatingly difficult.

 I have locked myself in my bedroom on countless occasions and cried.  I cried so hard and long, that my eyes remind puffy and red for hours afterwards. Cried so hard my body shook.  Cried so much my nose permanently ran.  I have screamed and yelled, gritted my teeth, reread Love & Logic, screamed some more, talked calmly, ignored long winded tantrums, held doors shut as a five year found super human strength to pry it open, found my blank look and keep my face motionlessness as they screamed at me, broke up a sibling argument, separated physically fighting children, broke up more arguments, gave many serums on tattle-tailing  ignored them some more, put them through more chores, cried even more.  You get the picture. I have gone through an endless gamut of tantrums, bickering between siblings, and my own internal breakdowns.  

Today was not better, although I do see a light (it's far away and barely visible, like a spec of dust light fleeting in the wind of tantrums) and I will continue to kiss them goodnight and say "I love you" upon their much needed 8pm bedtimes.  On a side note, yes Noelle is 8 years old and yes she still has an 8pm bedtime. I would be happy to extend this time if she starts to A) sleep in past 6am B) wasn't yawning at 7pm C) showed me she could act in the matter of a young lady that deserves a later bedtime, as it has to be yearned in our house.  Bedtime, right now, is a magical time.  A time that I can skip gleefully from their rooms and twirl as I quietly wait for the click of the door knob.  It's a time where I can finally laugh at the mayhem of the day, I can remember those times that I was truly enjoying the children (yes, the do still exist and I do, very much, still love them) but I can also recount the many minutes they spent in their rooms, or scrubbing toilets or doing some other mundane chore for punishment.  I can crack open a crisp, cold beer, and relax, finally.

The root of our problem (I speculate) has to do with adjustment.  Noelle and Max have been away for the past nine months during the week.  They have to remember the house rules and how to get along with their younger siblings.  Violette and Zane have had the run of the roost and they are learning again, how to share and play with their older, and bossier counterparts.  It's an adjustment for me as well.  I have to remember how to fairly and kindly discipline them while having fun as well.  I need to remember how Zane is only 3 and can't keep up with Noelle all the time.  Violette gets pushed around a lot but is quick to snap, and Noelle can be a bit devious at times.  Max needs to curb is inner Mom and stop always telling on his siblings while refusing to help out.  As the days go on I am hoping that they get used to being a foursome and begin to simmer down.  In the meantime it's been a battleground and once you step foot in the house you leave feeling drained and out of breath and patience.

Swimming lessons have been a good distraction and all the kids are doing well.  Max is struggling the most, having actually swam better last year.  I suspect a large growth spurt in the last few months have left his limbs longer and more uncoordinated.  He is figuring things out and working hard to keep himself about the water.  Violette has improved the most, being able to swim entirely on her own for longer distances.  Noelle continues to work on proper strokes and learned how to dive without ending in a belly flop.  Zane started off rocky, and is now jumping on his own and fully submerging his head without batting an eyelash.

Zane is a little monster, as I've stated on many occasions, but one that brings many laughs into our house.  He has is own personal style and can be seen with some sort of costume, boots, guns, knives (plastic) being worn at any given time.  These particular pictures were taken while practicing throwing a football with Tom.  It made me smile:

Max was also shirtless and Zane always wants to be like his big brother.

A trip to Sturgis to visit Grandpa Roehrig and give Mom a break was schedule for today (Saturday) but has been postponed due to a severly sprained ankle by Tom.  The sprain had us visitng Urgent Care to get an x ray to rule out a break.  The swelling was a lot and Tom was in a large amount of pain.  The break was going to be my little salvation from the chaos, but that time shall come again.  For now, I'll just concentrate on getting through the days, one by one and continue to pray things get easier!!

Goodbye K & 2!

It’s the end of another school year.  The familiarity of Kindergarten and Second grade, simultaneously, has ended, giving way to the freedom summer vacation.  We are sad to say goodbye to another wonderful year at Sutton Elementary and the fabulous teachers that Noelle and Maximilian had the privilege of being their pupils. 

Due to a previously planned vacation, Noelle’s teacher, Ms. Elliott, was unable to attend the last four days of school (she did not anticipate going until the 18th, who would, it’s ridiculous).  We said our goodbye’s and got our obligatory picture, on the day of the Annual Family Picnic. Second grade suited this teacher and she handled the rowdy bunch with a no bull attitude.  Whenever possible I was able to see her in action and loved what I was able to observe.  She joked with the students, but keep the level respect from the students at an all time high.  Balance of fun and learning with much respect was practiced in her classroom.  The students were always smiling and learning to the extreme. Ms. Elliott was able to challenge Noelle, seeing that she could handle things, would give her harder spelling lists and math work.  She needed this!  It was a good second grade year.  Noelle excelled, immensely, reaching reading levels WAY beyond her age. Third grade will be a nice challenge for her and we can’t wait to see what the next school year holds.

June 18th was the official last day of school and Max was unable to attend.  The night before, the overload of junk food from a school celebration and home celebration of their last week lead up some rather disgusting puking.  I was fairly certain it wasn’t sickness, but kept him home just in case.  He cried and screamed, sad to not be able to see his friends one last time.  Kindergarten was a good year for him.  He preformed well, always behaving at the top of his game, making many friends and having a great time.  He is reading above where he needs to be and has vastly improved over the course the year. Mrs. Tidswell had only great things to say about him and while reviewing his report card, I couldn’t help but fill with pride for this amazing young man.  He’s a constant challenge at home, but is a lover of school! Because it was the last day, and a half day, I promised to pick Noelle up.  Max showed me that he was fine throughout the morning, so I was able to meet up with his teacher and snap a quick pic.

The heart aches as I know it will only be a short while until they are back in school full time.  This Fall, Violette will join the ranks of Sutton Elementary students.  Until then, I will try to soak up my precious time with these monsters. 

We have very few official plans over the summer, but our first one started the day after school ended.  We again started up with swim lessons.  The children were extremely happy to have these on their agenda's, who doesn’t love to swim when you’re a child?! 

 

 

On the home front we received our installation of our much needed driveway.  The actual installation was, without surprise, the best part for the troops.  During the day Violette and Zane watched from the garage, diligently keeping watch over the construction guys.  When Max and Noelle came home, the aided in the rolls of Supervisors.  Since then, we have enjoyed the new basketball net (courtesy of my parents for Easter) and countless games of PIG along with many trips up and down on scooters, bikes, and rollerblades.  A paved driveway is really a great thing, and something we took for granted having!  Tomorrow our front door will be painted to match our shutters and then in a few weeks our sprinkler system will be installed along with topsoil put down and grass seed.  We also have opted to have a landscaping company do the landscaping on the three sides of the house (we will put in a deck next summer probably).  It was something we heavily discussed, but it was decided to have someone else get it done quickly and professionally. 

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Although a bit cranky the last two days, I can safely say, having the foursome all together is a complete blessing.  I am looking forward to this summer’s adventures, ready to break free of schedule constants and see what the weeks ahead hold!

Family, Family, Family

These last three weekends we have been going, going, going and family has been the theme of our weekends.  The children have been enveloped with much love and fun, and many smiles and laughs have been shared over these visits.  Many pictures will be posted!

It started Memorial Day weekend.  We packed up the minivan and dove up to Traverse City to partake in a Babcock Family Gathering.  The weather was sunny and high 70's, just gorgeous.  Lake Michigan hovered in the low 40s, freezing all who touched her!  The children didn't mind dipping their toes in, and Zane could be seen completely submerged in the fridge cold water.  We were surround by many of my cousins and all of the six Babcock Sisters were there.  My Grandpa enjoyed the chaos and could be found most of the time sitting back and taking in the phenomenal sight of our large family enjoying themselves.  My Aunt Cindy opened up her beautiful vacation home to us all and the weekend was wonderful!

The first weekend in June brought with it a gathering of the Roehrig Gang to celebrate Grandpa Roehrig's birthday and Father's Day.  The annual get together brings all ten grandchildren together.  The old My Little Ponies are brought out, along with the little green army men.  Despite being so old, the toys keep all the children completely engaged for long periods of time.  

This year Aunt Liz and Uncle Larry decided to try something new and fun for the kids.  They made a water blob that was a complete hit and had all the grandchildren sopping wet and filled with many smiles and giggles!  We even got in a dreaded family photo!  By the time we left our stomachs were completely full and our hearts even fuller.  

One of my favorite pictures showing three generations of Baseball Lovers:

June 7th marked my Mom's 50th Birthday!  In order to celebrate we headed up to our old stomping grounds of Presque Isle, MI this Saturday and stayed at Firseside Inn in some cabins.  First we stopped by my Auntie Di's house (yep, I'm 30 and still call her Aunti Di!) she outdid herself with an amazing spread of food for us to much on, then a great dinner and some delicious German Chocolate birthday cake for desert.  It was a great day!  The children were in heaven with the Grand Lake right at their toes.  My cousin (from my Dad's side) was there was his three children, who are close in age to mine, so they all played nonstop.  Fishing, swimming, paddle boating, the children were constantly in motion! By the time we made it back to our cabins they quickly went to sleep.  The adults headed out to have our own campfire.  We stayed up way late!  In the morning we ate breakfast at the Inn, packed and headed out.  The trip was fast, but we saw many of our old friends and were able to really enjoy ourselves.  Happy 50th Birthday Mom/Glamma!!

After our fun filled weekends we are looking forward to summer and more adventures!  School is in session for Noelle and Maximilian until the 18th, and as the time drags on we are creating our Summer Bucket List and ready for less schedules and enjoying the warmer weather.